A sub-committee has been constituted by the Meghalaya government to have a re-look into the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and protocols before any move to reopen religious places across the state.
The decision was taken at a meeting convened by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma with leaders of different religious leaders under the banner of the Shillong All Faiths Forum (SAFF) at the state secretariat here on Monday.
After the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong informed that the chief secretary who will head the sub-committee, will immediately hold a meeting of the sub-committee within this week to revisit these SOPs and protocols, which the government had notified two months ago.
He said that the committee will also have representatives from the Shillong All Faiths Forum as its members.
In the latest guidelines for the fourth stage of 'Unlock', the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has allowed social, political, religious functions with a ceiling of certain number of people with effect from September 21.
“The committee will sit to revisit the SOPs and protocols and come back to the government for notifying it,” the Deputy Chief Minister added.
He further informed that if the COVID-19 situation in the state improves, the leaders of the forum have expressed that they are ready to start reopening religious places and places of worship by the first week of October.
