A family in SWKH forced to quarantine in a forest, KSU demands inquiry

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 20, 2020

The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) San Shnong Area Unit on Thursday demanded inquiry into the alleged forcing of a family to undergo quarantine in the forest just because their daughter had recently returned from Shillong.

According to the Union, the incident took place at Manad village in South West Khasi Hills district.

“The family of one Borming Nongbsaw from Manad village was forced to undergo quarantine in the forest after their daughter had returned to the village from Shillong on August 6,” KSU-San Shnong Area Unit general secretary Mansaljune K Hari said in a statement issued on Thursday.

He informed the Union had conducted an enquiry and found that the moment the daughter of the family arrived in the village, some people from the dorbar shnong and ordered them to immediately go to a nearby forest citing that “those coming from Shillong are not allowed to stay in the village”.

Terming the action of the village as human rights violation, Hari said, “We highly condemned the incident and demanded the district administration of South West Khasi Hills to conduct an inquiry and ensure those responsible behind such acts of discrimination against the family are punish as per law.”

He also alleged that the persons who had ordered the family to quarantine in the forest claimed that it was a decision taken by the COVID-19 Management Committee of the village.

The KSU leader further threatened to file a complaint to the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission for its intervention into the incident.