A temple
and a wall built on the road to a Dalit colony in Dharmapuri District
six months ago was demolished by municipal authorities on Thursday.
These structures were constructed on the road between Ambedkar Colony
of the Dalits and Gandhi Nagar where caste-Hindus resided.
Officials
said in September last year, M. Kanchana of Ambedkar Colony lodged a
complaint with the Dharmapuri Municipality that caste-Hindus of Gandhi
Nagar had constructed a wall 10 years ago to block the way to her
colony, forcing the Dalits to take a circuitous route to their colony. While
they continued to endure this, the Tamil Nadu Untouchability
Eradication Front (TNUEF) began in 2009 a series of protests to have the
wall removed. But, there was no solution.
A.
Kumar, district convener of the TNUEF told
that the organisation had held many agitations, including one on March
14 this year, to demand the demolition of the temple and the wall. It
had also represented to District Collector and Superintendent of Police
for action.
Ms.
Kanchana submitted a petition to the municipality on September 13, last
year, seeking demolition of the wall. Meanwhile, the residents of
Gandhi Nagar constructed the temple on the road.
Officials
said that after verifying the land records, they found that the temple
and the wall were built to block the path. The wall and the temple were
demolished on Thursday morning. This was carried out
in three hours, in the face of protest from the residents of Gandhi
Nagar, A. Gurusamy, Commissioner (in-charge) of Dharmapuri Municipality
said. Police were posted at the spot to prevent violence.
When
asked why the civic body took eight months since the submission of
petition to demolish the wall, Mr. Gurusamy said two rounds of talks
with residents of both colonies were held to find an amicable solution. When
the municipality saw that those who built the temple and the wall were
not willing to remove these, it decided to demolish the structures.
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