Zenith picks holes in govt’s COVID handling

SHILLONG: Opposition Congress continued its attack on the state government on Tuesday with the party’s Rangsakona MLA Zenith Sangma this time accusing it of mishandling the COVID situation in the state.
Addressing a press conference in Tura, Sangma said that the government has failed in enforcing the provisions of the Disaster Management Act while citing the instance of even an MDA MLA blaming the Health department and the minister.
Stating that every department will have to take collective responsibility of dealing with the pandemic, he said that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma despite being the chairman of the State Disaster Management Authority is not taking any responsibility and passing all the blame to the Health minister.
Asking the government to involve all the traditional institutions in the fight against COVID, the MLA, who was heavily criticised by NPP leaders earlier, said it should increase testing facilities in the state.
“There should be makeshift centres for collection of samples as many people are reluctant to go to the hospitals for testing,” Sangma said.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister and NPP leader Prestone Tynsong had termed the Congress’s concern over the government’s handling of the situation as “playing petty politics.”