VVIP drill disrupts normalcy

SHILLONG, July 23: Amidst the pandemic-induced suffering, residents of the state are being subjected to further trouble ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state with traffic drills prevent free movement of people and traffic in the city on Thursday and Friday.
While the East Khasi Hills district administration announced sudden closure of all markets in the city on Saturday, the Traffic Department has imposed no entry restrictions in several parts of the city on Saturday and Sunday. The city witnessed traffic jams on both Thursday and Friday and in several places traffic was held up for the traffic drill.
Congress MLA Mohendro Rapsang took note of the matter and slammed the state government for making sudden changes in the order, saying such haphazard decisions confused people led to a rush in the markets.
Nongpoh MLA, Mayralborn Syiem also took note of the fact that all shops in Shillong have been asked to remain shut on Saturday and recalled that such a practice has never been followed in the past.
“The people of Meghalaya are calling this dictatorship and not democracy,” he said while adding that Prime Ministers and Presidents have visited the state in the past but shops were never closed down.
“We welcome the Home Minister but his visit should not affect the livelihood and daily life of people,” he added.
In order to ensure a bump-free drive for the Home Minister, all the rumbling strips have been removed from the routes he is scheduled to take.
When the Public Works Department was asked for a reaction, an official said that it was a non issue since they will reconstruct the speed breakers once the VVIP leaves.
The official maintained that the same trend is being followed even on national highways. Though the official was not sure if any SOP was in place, he said that speed breakers have been removed to prevent the VVIP convoy from slowing down and getting exposed to security breach.