SHILLONG, May 5: After a sudden announcement of lockdown in East Khasi Hills, MDA coalition partner, UDP and the Opposition Congress have raised objection to the government’s move, accusing it of being inconsistent and terming the decision as inappropriate.
“The sudden announcement of lockdown is inappropriate because in a crisis situation, political leaders have to act like crisis managers and analyse the situation from all angles and perspectives,” UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh said on Wednesday.
Stating that the sudden announcement led to a mad rush everywhere, Mawthoh said, “There were long queues outside ATMs, panic buying in shops and market places and construction and daily wage workers were left stranded.”
“Lockdown was necessary due to the surge of cases but ample time should have been given to the people to prepare themselves,” he added.
The Opposition party also observed that the sudden announcement of lockdown which contributed to citizens bolting to the markets on Wednesday afternoon across the city would likely be a cause for spread of the disease.
Stating that there was a perception about lockdown not being an option for the government, Congress MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh said, “This afternoon, the sudden declaration was like a bolt out of the blue. The government has failed to remain consistent on the issue and public is now inconvenienced.”
She asked the government to disclose its plan for public support in the coming days, and added that any plan has to be inclusive of livelihood assistance.
Expressing concern on the prevailing COVID-19 situation, the Congress MLA suggested, “Our health facilities are also under tremendous strain, district centres have to be geared up to relieve Shillong hospitals in the event of further rise of cases”.
It may be mentioned that an all-party meet, aiming at discussions about the pandemic situation as a single unit besides formulation of strategies to counter it effectively, is yet to see the light of the day.
Instead, the government had convened a meeting of all MLAs from Shillong to discuss the situation.
