Despite the claim by the State government that the relocation of Sikh from Them Ïew Mawlong would be completed by the end of September, the fact remains that the issue will not be resolved even by the end of this year.
During a meeting with Chief Secretary Donald P. Wahlang on September 25, it was learnt that the Sikh residents of the area do not want to be shifted to the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) land at Bishop Cotton Road.
They however wanted to be relocated to a land near Them Ïew Mawlong which belongs to the Defence Ministry.
Now the State government will have to write to the Defence Ministry on the matter and till any final decision by the ministry, the relocation of the Sikh residents from Them Ïew Mawlong is unlikely to happen.
It is also learnt that a century-old Sikh shrine, Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar, located at Them Ïew Mawlong is the major centre of dispute.
A delegation of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) led by SGPC general secretary Rajinder Singh Mehta during the meeting with Wahlang also submitted a memorandum urging the State government to reconsider plan to demolish the houses of the Sikhs and their gurdwara at Them Ïew Mawlong.
The State government proposed relocating the Sikh residents from the area as part of its urban development efforts. However, the residents, represented by the Harijan Panchayat have resisted the plan and said that the gurdwara, established in 1865 in honour of Guru Nanak’s visit, is an essential part of their religious and cultural identity.
A day after meeting Wahlang, the SGPC delegation also met Governor C H Vijayashankar, seeking his intervention to save the 200-year-old gurdwara. The SGPC delegation also urged the governor to issue directions to the State government to revoke its plan of demolishing the gurdwara and houses of Sikh families at Them Ïew Mawlong.
Earlier, the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) had on August 26 sought more time from the State government to respond to the blueprint regarding the relocation of 342 families from Them Ïew Mawlong.
The HPC’s appeal came after the Meghalaya government gave the committee 15 days to make a decision and communicate the same to the authorities.
