3-day re-assembled budget session of Meghalaya Assembly starts

The three-day re-assembled budget session of the Meghalaya Assembly started on Wednesday amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Wearing masks was made compulsory for all, including the chief minister and MLAs. Before entering the assembly, they were made to undergo thermal screening and also had to sanitise their hands.

The budget session of the state assembly was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma announced in the assembly on Wednesday that financial relief of Rs 5,000 would be provided to active quarantine centres set up by communities in the state.

"A one-time grant of Rs 5,000 will be awarded to active community quarantine centres through the Chief Minister's Relief Fund," he said while replying to a zero-hour notice.

According to the chief minister, a total of 7,050 people stranded in different parts of the country have returned to the state.

Sangma said that the state government will try to bring all the citizens who are stranded in various parts of the country within two weeks.

He also informed that the government has also decided to carry out both the Rapid Diagnostic Test and the RT-PCR test for COVID-19 on all returnees.

The chief minister said his dispensation is encouraging returnees to undergo home quarantine and added that the government is flexible when it comes to encouraging people to set up a quarantine centre at the community and village levels.

Earlier, Opposition Congress MLA M Syiem demanded that the state government set up more institutional quarantine centres as over 10,000 people stranded across the country are set to return home.

He also demanded that the government provide funds to support communities who have set up quarantine centres at their villages across the state.

Syiem also said that the quarantine period be increased from 14 days to 28 days to stem the spread of COVID-19.

There is only one active COVID-19 case in Meghalaya as of now. One person who returned from Chennai recently tested positive for coronavirus.

The state had reported 14 COVID-19 cases, of which 12 have recovered, one died and another is active.