The restrictions on mobile internet services continued in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong on Wednesday, a day after the government decided to keep curfew timings unchanged. The curbs were imposed following the violence that broke out on May 31 between members of the dominant Khasi community and long-time Sikh residents of the Punjabi Line settlement in the heart of the city.
Officials will meet later in the day to review the situation, The Shillong Times reported. The violence was sparked by an altercation between a Khasi bus driver and a Sikh resident of the settlement. The Khasis are demanding that the residents of Punjabi Line be moved to an area on the city’s outskirts.
The local administration in the Garo Hills, however, has lifted the restrictions on mobile internet services. They were imposed to prevent the spread of rumours via WhatsApp, local officials said. In its last order, the district magistrate had relaxed curfew timings in a few areas under the the Lumdiengjri police station.
Relocation proposal
The Meghalaya government has set up a high-level panel to study the demand to relocate the settler population from Punjabi Line. The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council last week said it would study the land documents of Punjabi Line (Them Iew Mawlong) and send its suggestions to the high-level committee, The Shillong Times reported.
A member of the National Commission for Minorities, however, has questioned the proposal.
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