The arrival of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Meghalaya has played spoilsport with the state’s golden jubilee celebrations, with the government deciding today to scale down the festivities.
The official celebration on Meghalaya Day, January 21, will be held at Polo, Shillong but attendance will be limited to 30 per cent of the 3,000 person capacity. However, that still means that around 1,000 people will be present.
“The programme will be held in a hangar that can accommodate close to 3,000 people but the protocol of having 30 per cent only (will be observed),” Chief Minister Conrad Sangma told the media after the decision was made. “This 30 per cent will comprise people from all over the place as attendees and participants. All other districts will be connected online to the programme in Shillong and participating.”
Meanwhile, there has still been no confirmation of whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present on the big day or not. He had been invited to the celebrations by the Meghalaya government last year.
The state government has also thought better of its plan to launch 50 projects on Meghalaya Day, instead now preferring to launch 300 throughout the year, which, the CM said, will make them more meaningful to the masses.
He hinted, however, that there will still be a couple of big initiatives launched or announced on January 21.
