Address price hike, short supply of items: Mukul to govt

SHILLONG: Congress leader and former chief minister Mukul Sangma has asked the state government to immediately provide general relief to the people as per the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to address the twin issues of spike in prices of essential commodities and short supply to mitigate the hardship of the people.
Speaking to The Shillong Times here on Tuesday, Sangma said that providing general relief to the people as in the past could have provided them succour.
He said that the relief should be provided with support in kind and not in cash adding that extraordinary situation requires extraordinary measures.
He said that the government could have handled the situation in a manner that could have saved people the hardship.
Stating that the demand-supply gap is a matter of concern, he added that people now have limited cash and the Opposition is trying to draw the government’s attention to their plight.
He said several districts are facing shortage of essential commodities particularly rice due to disruption in the supply chain.
He also said that a substantial number of residents of the state, including students, employees and migrant workers, were stranded in Assam and the party was connecting to them so that the matter can be taken up with the authorities.