SHILLONG: Meghalaya may be COVID-19 free as of today, but the battle is far from over. With so many of its people returning to the state from different parts of the country, the government has to strengthen its strategies for working in conjunction with the local governance bodies — the Dorbar Shnong — which are the real ground zero warriors.
Most Dorbars, which have little experience of grappling with an emergency of this magnitude, are already feeling stretched. They have their own share of problems and obstacles which always do not get conveyed to the administration.
Talking to The Shillong Times, Rangbah Shnong of Laitumkhrah, Gordon Bruce Sawkmie said that better communication channels between the Dorbar Shnong and district administration could have ensured better vigilance and institutional quarantine of those returning from different parts of the country.
“The East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner has formed a Committee to tackle COVID-19 at the Dorbar- level headed by a magistrate, with a doctor and other health workers and the Rangbah Shnong on board but the flow of communication could have been better managed so that we know what is expected of us. This would have ensured better synergy”, Sawkmie said, adding that Laitumkhrah being a commercial hub also requires better policing to ensure social distancing.
Lack of clarity on a ‘Plan of Action’ to deal with institutional quarantine of returnees from different states because home quarantine is designed to fail is what has hamstrung the process.
Sawkmie further pointed out that those returning to Meghalaya by train from different zones could not possibly have maintained social distancing on the train hence Government should have foreseen the risks that could be posed by home quarantine since most homes cannot afford the isolation of institutional quarantine.
When asked what could be the way forward for a better working protocol between the government and the Dorbar Shnong, Sawkmie said more frequent consultation between the Committee members and a more participative working model between the government and the Dorbars would go a long way in ironing out the rough patches.
“If the returnees had registered on the government portal then their numbers would have already been known and also their respective addresses. Accordingly, institutional quarantine could have been arranged in the different educational institutions in the different Dorbar Shnongs,” Sawkmie said.
Other Rangbah Shnong spoken to who did not wish to be named said that the people of the Shnong also needed to be sensitised about the quarantine centres so that they do not stigmatise those quarantined. They expressed apprehension about asymptomatic carriers who might have tested negative but could be transmitting the disease unknowingly. They felt that Meghalaya should get more testing done because only then will it be revealed if the state is really COVID free.
