SHILLONG, June 19 - A Punjab Government delegation arrived here today to take stock of the situation after people of the northern State residing in Punjabi Lane here were served notices by the State authorities to prove ownership of their land.
Last week some newspapers had also reported that an outlawed organisation has issued threat to the Punjabi settlers in the Punjabi Lane area.
The Punjab Government delegation is led by minister Sukhbinder Singh Randhawa and comprises MPs Ravneet Singh Bittu and Jasbir Singh Gill along with MLA Kuldeep Singh Vaid.
The delegation will meet Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong and Home Minister James PK Sangma and top government officials here, an official told this news agency.
The delegation visited the Punjabi Lane area this evening. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had personally taken up with his Meghalaya counterpart, Conrad K Sangma, the security issue of the Punjabis settled in the Punjabi Lane here.
In a letter to the Meghalaya Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh had said, �These reports have naturally caused great concern back in Punjab as these families have been settled in Shillong long before the country�s Independence.� He also requested his Meghalaya counterpart to initiate measures to instill a sense of security among the Punjabi settlers in the area.
Meghalaya Chief Secretary PS Thangkhiew had told the Ministry of Home Affairs last week that his Government had assured safety to the Punjabi settlers in Shillong.
An incident of assault in the Punjabi Lane area in May-June last year had resulted in group clashes, following which the entire area and certain sections of the city were put under curfew for over a month. � PTI
