Newmai News Network
Shillong | March 29
Amidst a 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the United Democratic Party (UDP) has stressed the need for strong surveillance at the entry points into Meghalaya.
Stating that the government is doing its job, Mawthoh said that complete isolation of the state is very important. “It is very crucial for the government to have very strong and strict surveillance in the entry points in the National Highways and border areas,” he reiterated.
“If we can ensure that there is a strong and strict surveillance that monitors everything in the entry points then the state will be quite safe,” Mawthoh said on Sunday.
He also said that people have to understand that social distancing is a matter of life and death and cannot be taken lightly because there is no medicine, vaccine, etc for the virus.
Stating that Shillong should be divided into zones to ease coordination, he said if all thronged to the DC office for all work, this will result in a lot of burden on the DC office.
He also opined that every district in the state should have a proper district emergency operation centre manned by competent people be it from government or non-government sectors who will monitor the day to day activities and provide inputs of what is going on in the entire state in this crucial situation.
Highlighting the importance of ensuring a steady supply chain of essential commodities during the lockdown, he said that even though the government is trying to regulate the whole-sellers, retailers, etc the distribution system must be made more efficient.
“We have to understand that we are all together in this and we must not panic over food items and at the same time we have to be convinced that we all get the equal share of food and essential commodities and no one is be left behind,” he said adding that this cannot be achieved if the people panic.
He further lauded the role of the Dorbar Shnongs while acknowledging the role played by the volunteers thereof during this crisis.
“We are so fortunate that we have the Dorbar Shnongs and this is where we instill in our minds the culture of preparedness for any disaster,” he added.
He also said that the passes should be given to only those who really need it and it should be restricted so that social distancing is maintained.
