Tura(Meghalaya) , June 9: A resident of the Nikwatgre locality of Tura, Novembirth Marak, has raised some very pertinent questions on the current lockdown in his locality after a few families tested positive for COVID leading to the entire village being declared a containment zone.
With the locality being declared a containment zone, exit and entry from the area has been restricted leading to many having to forgo work.
Marak, in a letter to the chief minister, Conrad Sangma has asked for the state to provide for rations for all the affected families as more 210 families from the same locality has had restrictions not allowing them to earn daily wages. With most families being in abject financial condition, Marak added that most were facing problems in even procuring their daily meals.
“The administration has declared Nikwatgre as a containment zone since the detection of few COVID positive cases in the recent past. As per sources, only 11 families among the locality have been detected positive during the random test drive in and around Nikwatgre area. They have all been put under home isolation and provided with necessary rations,” said Novembirth.
However what was concerning to him was the fact that another 216 families have been left without options to earn their daily food while nothing has been forthcoming from the state or administration.
“How are these 216 families to survive throughout the period under containment without supply chain of rations and other logistics being provided? Tura consists of a large number of daily wagers, poor and downtrodden families residing in and around the said locality since time immemorial. We only request that the administration come forward to relieve them of their grief,” added Novembirth.
Meanwhile, when contacted on the matter, deputy commissioner Ram Singh said that the matter was being taken up today, Jun 9 and restrictions would be lifted in the locality, expectedly, after due process.
“After testing and identifying the positive cases, the restrictions will be lifted, possibly by tomorrow. Only affected families will be kept under quarantine,” said the DC.
Similar concerns have also been raised in other districts where the declaration of containment zones has created a concern for daily wagers, a situation that the various administrations need to have a real rethink over.
Meghalaya has been one of the worst affected states in terms of proportion positive cases to tested ones with the situation barely showing an improvement since the onset of the new 2nd wave.
