Shillong Punjabi community urges guv to disband panel for

The Punjabi community here on Wednesday urged Governor Tathagata Roy to disband a state governemnt formed panel, headed by the deputy chief minister, for allegedly issuing orders with an intent to displace members of the community.

Leaders of the Harijan Panchayat Committee, an organisation representing the community, also requested Roy to take proactive steps to ensure that the authorities provide land pattas to the 218 Sikh families living in the area.

The government set up a high level committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tyngsong to consider all aspects of the violence that took place earlier this year.

The High Level Committee "has been issuing illegal orders for survey of properties of the poor Sikhs to the Shillong Municipal Board with the intention of dislocation of Sikhs," Harijan Panchayat Committee chairman Gurjit Singh said in a memorandum submitted to the governor.

The High Level Committee has been acting in a biased and malafide manner, he alleged.

The delegation informed the Governor that the Sikhs came from Punjab more than two centuries ago to serve the army here and became part and parcel of this society over the years.

Although non-indigenous people do not have the rights to own land in the state, the community urged the governor of their struggle for right to live and right to housing.

The delegation also requested the Governor to direct the state government to officially name the area as "Punjabi Colony".

Currently the area where the Punjabi community people live here is known as Sweepers' Colony.

Meghalaya government recently expressed unhappiness with the decision of the Punjab government approving Rs 60 lakh compensation to the Sikh community residing here who were affected during the violence in June.

On May 29 this year, clashes erupted when a bus driver and his friend were attacked at the Sweepers Colony area and they received injuries. As rumours of the assaulted victims dying in hospital spread on social media, people attacked the residents following which the entire area was put under curfew for over a month.