SHILLONG: Congress MLA David Nongrum has alleged that laxity was gradually creeping in at the entry and exit points as people from Assam were able to enter without much difficulty.
Pointing out that the COVID situation in Assam was grim and even the Assam Health Minister had acknowledged it, Nongrum said that the checking in the interstate border was not being carried out as per the SOP as many people from the state had easy access to Meghalaya.
Citing his own experience, Nongrum said that this week when he returned back from his constituency he found a carpenter from Guwahati in his house trying to fix a door.
The man who was engaged by his family for the job, left on the same day in his private vehicle.
“It clearly shows that there are serious lapses in screening the people coming to the state and if people can come and go this easily, the state government may very well open the borders,” he said.
He mentioned that there have been cases of people coming from Assam and testing positive in Ri-Bhoi and the state government will have to be serious and not flexible and lenient.
He also expressed concern that in Lad Smit where vegetable vendors sit, a lot of transit passengers from Barak valley stop by to buy vegetables.
It may be recalled that days after the state government had announced re-strengthening of the entry and exit points in view of the spike in cases elsewhere in the country, a case of an SBI official from Assam on deputation to Khliehriat, East Jaintia Hills had surfaced where he had to pass through the entry point in Ri-Bhoi and tried to escape testing but was later tested positive for COVID-19.
