Meghalaya, July 14, 2023: Meghalaya BJP Vice-President Bernard Marak, has strongly criticized the state government’s decision to implement a ban on business establishments operating after 10 pm in the East Khasi Hills district. He is urging the government to reconsider this order.

In a press statement, Bernard emphasized that imposing restrictions is not a wise choice as it adversely affects the livelihoods of hawkers and night shift workers who are not even connected to the incident that prompted this action.

He argued that these individuals are now facing severe difficulties in their struggle for survival, as their only source of income is at risk. According to Bernard, allowing a minor incident to escalate to such a significant extent exposes the state’s failure in collective administration.

This statement from the Tura MDC (Member of District Council) comes amidst protests by hawkers in Shillong. They are opposing the directive from the East Khasi Hills district administration, which mandates the closure of shops by 10 pm. The administration claims that this step is necessary to prevent lawlessness.

Bernard posed a critical question, questioning whether shutting down shops early is truly a solution to address the societal issues at hand. He further raised concerns about the possibility of a similar incident occurring at 8:00 pm, which would then require further adjustments to the timing of the shutdown, potentially affecting businesses even more.

Instead of implementing an effective and modern mechanism to combat such incidents while ensuring citizen safety, Bernard believes that the government’s decision takes the region backward in time.