Meghalaya government has asked the North Garo Hills deputy commissioner to talk to the counterpart in Assam’s Goalpara district as several organisations have called for an economic blockade on all routes from the district to Garo Hills.
The economic blockade will start on Thursday morning.
“We have asked the concerned deputy commissioner to engage with the counterpart as the state government has revised the protocols related to entry and exit where people from Assam, who visit the state for five days or less, need not get themselves tested at the entry point if the visit is only for five days or less,” Meghalaya deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong said on Wednesday.
According to the revised protocols related to testing of COVID19 cases, visitors coming for a specific purpose (business, examinations, industry, work, personal distress, etc.) to Meghalaya for a short duration of 5 days or less, are exempted from quarantine on the production of a COVID-Negative RAT report from a recognised laboratory.
The report will be valid only if tested within 48 hours of their arrival at the entry point.
Several organisations in Assam’s Goalpara district have decided to call for an indefinite economic blockade from October 29 in protest against the entry restrictions imposed by the Meghalaya government on traders and transporters from Assam in view of the COVID19 pandemic.
The organisations said they would not call off the economic blockade if the MHA guidelines are not implemented by the Meghalaya government.
They alleged that restrictions, imposed by Meghalaya on movement of traders and workers as well as vehicles from Assam, have adversely affected the people in Goalpara district, who commute to Garo Hills every day.