A COVID19 Travelogue : Arriving in the Abode of Clouds

Travelogue, Meghalaya, Covid

To be on the front lines in the midst of crisis is a perpetual passion for this development professional. The academic module having ended by 21^st March 2020, I had since begun working remotely from my sister’s place in Sarjapur Road, Bengaluru. The 3-month long wait for deployment ended with the announcement of travel dates by the end of June 2020. Apprehensions on contracting Covid-19 in Meghalaya were greatly pacified in light of the low transmission risks reported (see the figure below) in the state. Being a pandemic season nonetheless, travel plans had to be made proactively. Amazon orders were placed for sanitizers, gloves, disinfectant sprays and other Covid-19 essentials. Apart from shopping requirements, quarantine plans were also promptly arranged through collaboration between the MSDE, SRA and MSSDS by providing adequate points of contact. It was an appreciable moment when safety concerns raised by the fellows were swiftly addressed by booking the quarantine centre at IIM Shillong.

Finally 20^th June 2020, the D-day for the journey arrived with excitement and anxiety in tow. All the e-commerce orders were delivered in time and end-to-end directions about the journey were made by the SRA in advance. A cab was booked for 3am in the morning through a corporate cab operator as the usual cab aggregators were unreliable at odd timings. Considering the prevailing conditions, my attire resembled a mountaineer, sporting a full sleeve jacket with a winter cap, gloves, masks, and shoes. An MGNF fellow from Bangalore proved a friendly companion and a great relief during the travel.

It was a day filled with blessings in disguise as we reached the airport in time for the flight and landed by 10.10am at Guwahati Airport with a minor 10 minute delay. Another MGNF fellow had reached ahead of us, only to fill all the adequate forms. The three of us began our journey to Shillong, after sanitising our bags with a disinfectant spray, in an MSSDS pre-booked cab with a PPE kit wearing driver. We were stopped at multiple check points including Byrnihat, Barapani and finally at the Polo in Shillong for systematic e-registration and medical tests of every single in-migrant. At Byrnihat, both my papers and that of the other MGNF Fellow were missing which delayed the journey by an hour. Yet the government officials were cooperative and empathetic, making up for the mistakes and completing the rapid test as well as swab tests. To our relief, the rapid tests were negative, and we were off to IIM Shillong New Hostel. After a 15-hour long journey, we finally arrived at our destination enthralled at the synergized way in which the Meghalaya Government effectively handled the in-migrants. Universal swab testing of in-migrants, centralised database for monitoring, constant check-up from health department and well sanitised quarantine centres that provided healthy food were notable initiatives of the Government.

Apart from the engaging travel experience and quarantine facilities, poor network connectivity is a major hindrance towards restarting MGNF work post the travel. With high hopes to be out on the district soon, I end the travelogue here, wishing all the MGNF fellows, safety and blessings towards contributing to the cause of livelihood generation.

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  Dipin V Panicker

  Dipin V Panicker is currently a Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow based out of North Garo Hills, Meghalaya at IIM Bangalore. He is an engineer turned development professional with experience in policy advocacy and solid waste management. His area of interests includes networking and partnerships, social entrepreneurship and holistic well-being.