Dalits plea to demolish wall built by caste Hindus

Erode, June 19 (PTI): Dalits of Nandampalayam village in the district have urged the district administration to demolish a wall built in their area reportedly by some caste Hindus, failing which they would remove it by July 2. Police said the land owner had granted his land to the government in 1996, which in turn divided it into 56 sites and gave it to an equal number of Scheduled Caste families with pattas. They then built houses on the land with two paths to reach the main road, to enable students go to schools.

In 2010 caste Hindus on the other side of the road reportedly built a five foot high wall within the patta land due to which the families had to take a deviated route to reach the road, they said. The families claimed no action had been taken by the local body despite a number of petitions. Last week, the PMK submitted a petition on behalf of the families to the Collector Dr V K Shanmugam detailing their problems, following which he ordered the District Revenue Officer to conduct an enquiry and submit a report, they said. Revenue officials said investigation is in progress. Meanwhile the families said they would demolish the wall on Jul 2 if no action was taken by then and said authorities have already been informed of their decision. Police maintained the wall was not a 'communal' wall and was built some years back and that action would be taken only after a proper investigation. Police pickets have been posted in the area to prevent any untoward incident.

[Courtesy: IBN Live, June 19, 2012]