Shillong Dalit Sikhs to challenge eviction move

CM Conrad K. Sangma says govt will take possession of land at Harijan Colony within a week

The Dalit or Mazhabi Sikhs of the Harijan Colony adjoining Iewduh, the commercial hub of Meghalaya capital Shillong, would be challenging the government’s bid to take possession of their land after evicting them.

After a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said the government was set to take possession of the Harijan Colony land within a week by following “due procedures”. The employees of the Shillong Municipal Board residing at the Harijan Colony would be relocated to the staff quarters on the premises of the board’s temporary office in another area of the city, he stated.

The 2-acre Harijan Colony, also known as Punjabi Lane or Sweepers’ Lane, has about 350 families living in two-storey hovels flanking a 300-metre lane. Only a few families have members as employees of the municipal board.