NCM orders status quo on Punjabi Colony in Shillong

Syed Ali Ahmed

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 12

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has asked the Meghalaya Government to maintain status quo as regards Punjabi Colony in Shillong.

The directive came following a meeting on Thursday that was attended by Shillong Gurdwara Management Committee president Gurjeet Singh, the Meghalaya Chief Secretary, the Urban Department secretary, the state’s Advocate General and NCM member Manjit Singh Rai.

The state’s Urban Department has a long-pending plan to relocate Punjabi Colony, which is inhabited by around 6,000 Sikhs and 4,000 Hindu Punjabis.

Rai said the NCM directed the Chief Secretary and Shillong administration to maintain status quo till the final orders. The next meeting would be held on August 9.

The issue of Punjabi Colony relocation was raised by the authorities in 2004. Sikhs and other Punjabis, living there for 200 years, have approached the High Court.

Gurdwara panel chief Gurjeet Singh said the situation in Shillong — which witnessed a law-and-order situation in Punjabi Colony last month — was serious and the residents had little trust in the local administration.