SHILLONG: The ongoing pandemic is a difficult phase for humanity but it will pass sooner or later. Some afflictions never go away, observed Raju Singh of Goraline on Sunday as he spoke about the denigration of the Harijan community in the city.
Singh, who is the president of the Harijan Panchayat Committee, told The Shillong Times that the word “sweeper” has been stamped on their foreheads, changing the course of life for many in Goraline Punjabi Lane.
For instance, Singh left a prospective career in sports because the address on his EPIC read ‘Sweeper Colony”.
“Even to this day, authorities mark us as residents of Sweeper Colony. How can you even think of producing your documents with that address? How will the youths go for job interviews or exams? I am afraid that this might spoil my children’s career and so I am yet to apply for their EPICs,” said Singh.
Over a century ago, predecessors of Singh and others migrated to Shillong with their British masters. They worked as manual scavengers till the Centre prohibited it. They swept toilets and cleaned human waste, “keeping Shillong clean and making it the queen of the hills”, said the 52-year-old resident, who is the fifth generation living here.
That casteism is still a reality in many parts of India can be understood from the tagging of the residents as ‘sweepers’. For them, social distancing is not a new phenomenon.
“My heart breaks at this kind of a treatment of our community even after so many years. Why tag us ‘Sweeper Colony residents’? Why call us sweepers in the first place? There is another term, multi-tasking staff (MTS), but no one uses it,” he said.
But many youth in the slum have overcome this humiliation with the help of education and are now doctors and lawyers. “Some of our children (from the locality) left this place after they got good jobs. My daughter is a nursing officer at AIIMS, Bhopal, and her husband is a doctor,” said Ram Murty Gill, the secretary of the committee.
COVID scarcity
The Punjabi community living in Goraline has not received masks or sanitisers from the government and the 215-odd households, many of which are in the low income group, have to buy the mandatory protective gear, informed Amar Singh, a resident.
Water too is scarce and women have to go up and down steep flight of stairs to fetch water. “Supply in the public tap from the Municipal is once daily in the evening. There are problems but whom to talk to,” Arjun Singh, a tourist taxi driver now out of work, said. His family of eight is struggling in the lockdown.
Most of the colony dwellers work in Shillong Municipal Board. Around 40 residents are taxi drivers.
“Water problem is there but we are managing,” Gill said. There are 10 wells in the colony and the water from there is used for bathing and washing clothes.
Raju said the colony was not disinfected and the residents came together to do the needful.
No ration cards
The committee president is dealing with another problem of ration cards. He said 30 per cent of the households do not have ration cards and they have to show their voter cards to get essential commodities. “We are planning to start coupons for those who do not have ration cards,” he informed.
Ration is a problem for some residents but they can at least get vegetables at comfortable prices. The committee has deployed two persons to source vegetables from Bara Bazar as the residents do not go to Laitumkhrah market where prices are steep.
“Here we are getting peas at Rs 40 while at Laitumkhrah market, peas are Rs 120 per kg. People here cannot afford,” said Raju.
Gurmeet Singh sells potatoes, tomatoes and onions all at Rs 40 and cabbages at Rs 30. A municipal worker, he said that he works on alternate weeks.
Social service
Despite their financial problem, the Harijan Panchayat committee members made it a point to serve food to people during the lockdown. They have stopped the service due to issues in availing LPG cylinders.
“We have done so in the last 34 days but now we have discontinued it”, he said adding that they have gone around the city during the lockdown to serve attendants of hospitals, police personnel and others.
Pointing out that there is harmony in the colony, Raju said there is a Hindu temple, gurudwara and a church. There are 10-20 Christian families and before the entrance, stands a Full Gospel Fellowship prayer hall which has been there for more than 20 years.
He said members of Laitumkhrah Presbyterian Church visit them and celebrate Christmas with them. “They are like family and they have been helping during this crisis,” he added.
Pending money
Raju said the Shillong Municipal Board members do not get pension or gratuity and salary is delayed for months. “We informed MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh about this and salary was cleared for a few months. Now only a month’s payment is pending,” he added.
Raju also recalled an incident where Goraline also came under attack during the Harijan Colony issue in 2018. “The miscreants threw a petrol bomb from a running vehicle. But since it was a running vehicle, there was not much force and there was no damage or injury,” he said.
Problem persists in electric crematorium
Raju Singh said they faced difficulties in cremating the body of a resident in the area as the electric crematorium was closed.
He said a young man passed away but they were disheartened when they found out that the electric crematorium was closed.
Later, they had to use wood to cremate the body.
When contacted, the member of management committee of Shillong Electric Crematorium, JL Das said that there were technical snags and they were rectified. The crematorium is open following the technical snags.
“Such problem usually crops up. It is now repaired”, he said.
