Shillong will be going into another lockdown for three days from Monday to Wednesday. This poses the question whether this is the only option to control the spread of the Coronavirus. Perhaps in the early stages a few loopholes could have been plugged. The constant movement by BSF personnel has added to the large number of Covid cases. A consultation between the State Government and the Union Home Ministry to temporarily stop the movement of security personnel in view of Covid was called for in the early stages when BSF personnel were first detected with the virus.
The BSF camp is inadequate to provide quarantine facilities to their inmates and the spread happened mainly due to the fact that inmates lived in close proximity with shared facilities. The spread was inevitable imminent. A close coordination between the State Government and the Union Home Ministry on how to deal with the challenge in the early days was imperative. What is worse is that BSF personnel live in rented accommodation outside their camps. Hence the propensity for spreading the virus outside the camp and within the communities is very real. The BSF camp was declared a containment area a bit late in the day.
A lockdown imposed on and off is unsettling for economic activities where the poorest get to earn their livelihoods. A lockdown of Shillong brings all economic activities to a grinding halt. Of course Meghalaya is only following in the footsteps of the other states that all believe that a lockdown is the only way to contain the daily spurt in Covid cases. The fact is that Covid has exposed the complete lack of governance in state after state. Also exposed is the poor state of health infrastructure. India is a populous country and physical distancing is the biggest challenge. People lack discipline hence every Government directive to combat Covid has to be enforced by the police. Fines have to be imposed on violators that don’t wear masks. Crowding continues at market places despite the daily call to vigilance in these aspects.
In Meghalaya, the MDA Government appears to be run by three people – the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister and the Health Minister. Other ministers are not visible and give the impression that they are under quarantine. A government functions on collective decision-making. The role of the Opposition Congress too is ambiguous. They blow hot and cold and are not seen to be working in tandem with Government to tackle this health emergency. Political one-upmanship at this time is opportunistic. This has to be mended. All 60 MLAs have to put their heads together to address the pandemic better.