Shillong Sikhs reject govt panel on land

Kolkata, July 3

The Harijan Panchayat Committee, spearheading the resistance to Meghalaya government’s attempt to evict Sikh residents of Shillong’s Punjabi Lane area, today accused the high-level committee (HLC) under Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong as being “partisan” and said that no way they would accept its decision.

The HLC was constituted by the state after an incident of assault in the Punjabi Lane area in May last year, which resulted in violent group clashes between Sikhs and local Khasis.

The Harijan Panchayat Committee also categorically rejected what it called the “polite threat” of the Deputy CM, who had recently asked the Sikh settlers to shift on their own from Punjabi Lane, also known as Sweeper’s Colony. On May 31, the Shillong Municipal Board issued notice to the Sikh residents to provide documents with regard to their possession of land or buildings in Punjabi Lane, located at a stone’s throw distance of Shillong’s prime commercial area, Police Bazaar.

Today was the last day of the submission of documents, but none complied with the directive. — TNS