Suddenly the genesis of how Mazhabi Sikhs came to reside in the area which has different nomenclatures, one of which is Punjabi Lane is becoming clearer. The area, like those around it including Iewduh, falls under the Mylliem Syiemship. Relocating the entire population of three hundred fifty families to a single area turns that area into a ghetto. The present area of 9800 sq metres is just not feasible for housing 1750 people (taking an average family of 5 members). The children growing up in this ghetto must feel claustrophobic. They have no playground and no greenery around and no fresh air to breathe. They are subjected to the vehicle fumes through the day. The moment they step out of their homes they land on the streets. Indeed the street is their only playground. So the resistance to move away from the area because of emotional reasons is not a tenable one. However, the problem is in locating a new place for their hutments.
Finding an alternative location is not a problem of only the Government but should be a collective responsibility of the Hima Mylliem, the Khasi Hills District Council, the Government, the Dorbar Shnong of Greater Shillong, the pressure groups and even the Hawkers’ Association. The Government cannot be held accountable if different Dorbars are unwilling to locate the housing colony within their areas. Perhaps what makes the problem look insurmountable is the idea of so many families of a single community residing at one place. It might be a good idea to spread the community into different areas. This might reduce the pressure on the different Dorbar Shnong. That the services of this community are indispensible can be garnered from the fact that in the last few days the garbage from different areas of the Shillong Municipality remained untouched. There was no one to collect it. The garbage collection started only on Thursday.
It is time to recognise that the Government is not an entity separate from the people. It is the people who have elected the Government and it is incumbent upon the people to find solutions to societal problems. Government must be broad-based to include citizens in discussions on all matters related to public welfare. We have played the blame game to our own detriment for far too long. Time to change the rules of the game!