Meghalaya extends lockdown till April 30

Shillong, Apr 13 () The Meghalaya government on Monday decided to extend the ongoing lockdown till April 30, as part of its measures to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

The decision was taken by the state cabinet at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.

"We have decided that the lockdown will continue till April 30," Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong told reporters.

He said inter-state movement would continue to remain suspended and all entry-exit points across the state sealed.

Based on the inputs received from the deputy commissioners, it has been decided that inter-district movement will not be allowed till such time that the government feels necessary to revisit (the same), Tynsong said.

The deputy chief minister, however, maintained that workers of one district stranded in another would be allowed to travel to their homes.

The transportation for such migrant workers will be monitored by the Transport department and the deputy commissioners concerned, he added.

Tynsong said patients who need to come to Shillong from the districts for medical needs would be allowed to travel, provided they get passes from the authorities concerned.

Deputy commissioners in districts along the border with Assam will examine whether operationalising village markets is feasible, he said.

"We leave it to their (DC's) wisdom to execute the decision taken by the cabinet today," the deputy chief minister said.

The cabinet has also revoked its earlier decision to allow movement of private vehicles from April 15.

"We have decided that private transportation will not be allowed until further orders in view of the prevailing situation," he said. JOP SOM IJT