The Union Home Ministry has today issued a notification for states to bring home their stranded students and migrant workers. The returnees would however, be subjected to screening at source and at their respective destinations and be kept in home/institutional quarantine upon their arrival. According to statistics gathered so far, there are roughly about ten thousand students and migrant workers stranded in different parts of the country. We can only imagine the anxiety and longing of those stranded in distant states, more so for those that no longer have any source of employment. They must be looking forward every moment to return to the safety and security of their homes. There’s a tribal saying that it’s better to be in your own home and eat just rice and salt then be in a distant land with all its predicaments. Granted that the Government of Meghalaya had given those in dire need, a subsistence allowance to tide over the immediate food crisis, but that is far from adequate. It’s the emotional and mental state of the stranded population that is of greater concern.
For those in Meghalaya it is important to remember that this stranded population are our own people; our own kith and kin that had to leave the state to either study or work elsewhere because of lack of opportunities in our own state. Since they will be subjected to strict screening and quarantine it is important that we do not stigmatise them. The returnees and their family members too would not want to endanger their own and other peoples’ lives by any sort of carelessness. Quarantine is quarantine; the meaning of this word should be meticulously explained to the returnees. Those under quarantine cannot be allowed to go around even if the lockdown is relaxed. They will have to abide by these stiff norms because that is in the larger interest of the people of Meghalaya. If, as a state we are able to contain Covid19 and so far we have done well with just a single casualty, thanks to the vigilance of the State Government and the medical fraternity, it is to our advantage. Economic activities have to kick-start and the agricultural sector has already opened up as it has to. These activities can progress if the Government is not burdened by the Covid19 scare and the daily toll it takes to tackle the pandemic. While the Government will have to remain on high alert, the fact that no new case is reported gives its a breathing space so it can also give adequate attention to rejuvenating the economy.