SHILLONG, April 22: The MLAs of Shillong agglomeration have asked the state government to refrain from calling any lockdown and focus on strict surveillance instead to ensure that each returnee reports to the authorities about his or her arrival and health status.
The MLAs made the request during their meeting with representatives of the state government on Thursday to discuss the COVID situation in the capital city.
East Shillong MLA, Ampareen Lyngdoh said after the meeting that lockdown should be the last resort and the government should put in other measures first to contain the situation.
Asking the government to employ a strict surveillance system as many returnees are not reporting themselves to the authorities concerned leaving the entire community vulnerable, Lyngdoh hoped the government would heed the suggestions the MLAs put forth for dealing with the situation.
KHADC Chief Executive Member, Titosstarwell Chyne too urged the government not to impose lockdown while advising a watch on how the entry points tackle the flow of returnees.
West Shillong MLA, Mohendro Rapsang voted against lockdown while maintaining that the government’s decision of closing down non-essential shops for a week will not impact the citizens much.
He also asked the government to take every measure other than lockdown to contain the situation.
The MLAs’ suggestion followed the government’s announcement that lockdown would be imposed if the COVID situation in the capital is not contained.
Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong said the government requested the MLAs to motivate everyone to take the COVID vaccine at the earliest.
He said it was decided in the meeting to reactive the constituency-level COVID management committees that would approach the government for necessary intervention as and when required.
The MLAs also called for strengthening the entry points. The government agreed to their idea of opening more counters at the entry points for taking the samples of the people besides ensuring additional manpower whenever needed.
Tynsong was optimistic that fewer people would be coming to Shillong once the non-essential shops are closed from April 26 to May 2.
Asking the people to avoid coming to the capital as the virus seems to be Shillong-centric now, he assured that nothing will happen to those who get vaccinated. He also said the impact of the virus would be reduced if the people get COVID after vaccination.
