SHILLONG, Aug 22 - The chiefs of Manad village in South West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya have tendered an unconditional apology to a family of seven, including a six-month-old child, for asking them to go into �jungle quarantine�.
After the incident went viral on social media, the South West Khasi Hills district administration conducted an inquiry. The inquiry report stated that the village heads �didn�t coerce the family� to move out of the village, but they did �suggest� it.
During the course of the inquiry conducted by H Kerwood Thabah, Extra Assistant Commissioner, the family and the village heads sat together and the village heads �tendered an apology to the family�, which they accepted.
According to the inquiry report, after returning from the State capital, the 15-year-old daughter of Pristina Shylla and Borming Nongbsaw was under quarantine at their home at Manad village.
The village heads, however, asked the family to shift to their �hut near their plantation� at Mawtangdiar away from the village as a precautionary measure, the inquiry report stated.
The family too felt that �it was practical to shift to the hut where they could cultivate broom grass and black pepper rather than sitting idle under home quarantine,� the report said.
The family collected food and other necessities before shifting to their hut, which is 15x15 ft in size, at Mawtangdiar.
When the family returned to the village after a few days, some youths interviewed them on their �jungle quarantine� and made a video, which went viral.
�The Deputy Commissioner has directed all the Sector Officers and Information Education and Communication (IEC) teams to intensify awareness campaign, especially in remote areas of the district, so that there is no misunderstanding or doubt related to COVID-19, which could lead to a similar misunderstanding or incident,� the report said.