The Cabinet meeting of April 6 has taken some far reaching decisions on life post the Lockdown. Meghalaya has fortunately not had a single Covid positive case and that’s a sign of hope but also the outcome of quick Government response to the crisis. From setting up testing facilities for incoming travelers to shutting down hotels and guests houses and ensuring that there is maximum surveillance on returnees from abroad and across the countries to ensure they follow strict quarantine protocols, the Government has done it all. In fact Government must be credited for taking the right steps from the very onset of the pandemic. Meghalaya was the first state to go on a curfew two days before the Janta Curfew of March 22, called by Prime Minister Modi. From putting up help-lines for Meghalayans studying and working outside the state to reaching out to daily labourers with financial assistance, the MDA has taken all the right steps.
Of course Government was also compelled to take some tough decisions to ensure that Meghalaya was sanitized and that there was no let up on the curfew. In short, it took no chances. Although curfews are not new to the people of Meghalaya a lockdown spanning three weeks is unprecedented. Stay at home and stay safe became the most used phrases. Families and friends have not met each other for weeks. Hotels and guest houses have remained closed; so too public transports. We can imagine the loss of livelihoods in these three weeks until April 14.
Hence the cabinet decision to revert to the pre-curfew period where government offices would function normally and labourers under the MNREGA and other construction works would start in right earnest but with enough caution and physical distancing as is possible cannot be faulted. The farming community has hailed this decision because this is also the sowing and planting season and things cannot be put on pause mode for too long since these sectors are also our lifelines. Without local food production, Meghalaya will have to rely on imports and this will hurt the sector and the people involved in agriculture farming and veterinary. It’s important for things to limp back to normal in order to reduce the panic that has gripped people in the last few weeks. While there has been an outpouring of philanthropy from various quarters and different groups have been feeding hungry mouths, this cannot be the norm. People have to get back to work; shops and other business establishments have to ramp up their sales. This even as the state continues to monitor the situation and to tread cautiously so that we are not caught unawares on the Covid19 threat.