CONTAINMENT ZONE: Shillong residents caught off guard by State government's move

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: The sudden decision of the State government to declare a total lockdown for seven days in East Khasi Hills district from Wednesday night made the residents scramble for groceries and vegetables in their respective localities and periphery as well as in some markets. Immediately after the Deputy Commissioner announced the entire city as a 'Containment Zone', the news became viral in the social media.

However by evening, the State's capital city of Shillong appeared deserted.

The people rushed to buy and store both perishable and non-perishable goods. ''If the lockdown is extended, we will have a torrid time," stated Marcus Kharsati while standing in a queue before a grocery shop.

Vijender and Akhilesh Singh -- both barbers, stated, ''Our shops are already closed following the government's decision. And now, the extension of the lockdown after Saturday will spell doom on us."

Local vendors were also surprised at the sudden decision of the government. ''Where will I throw the fishes. These are perishable items," said a fishmonger in Polo. Same was the predicament among the vegetable sellers.

Mentionably, the government had implement the odd-even formula for the shops to operate.

Despite these moves of the State government, however there has been a surge of COVID cases in the past four days. On Tuesday, 339 Coronavirus cases were registered while on Monday day the State had registered 225 COVID-positive cases.

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