Meghalaya govt. takes possession of Shillong Sikh colony
The Hindu
We are prepared for legal challenge by settlers, says Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong
The has taken possession of a colony of Mazhabi or in the State capital Shillong, four years after a communal flare-up led to a move to evict them.
The State’s Urban Affairs Ministry on Friday accepted the handover of the controversial patch of land measuring 12,444.13 sq. metres. The State government had earlier this year executed a tripartite lease deed for the land with the Syiem (king-like chieftain) of Mylliem and the Shillong Municipal Board for taking over the land where the Harijan Colony or Punjabi Lane stands.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, also the chairman of the High-Level Committee on the Harijan Colony issue, said the State Cabinet will discuss the impact of the government's move.
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.