‘Discriminatory wall’ in Tamil Nadu’s Namakkal village razed
NAMAKKAL: An alleged discriminatory wall at Muthukalipatti near Rasipuram in Namakkal district was demolished by the officials on Friday, significantly on reformer E V R Periyar’s birth anniversary celebrated as Social Justice Day.
The villagers said a non-dalit named Paramasivam had encroached upon the government land that was used as pathway to Ambedkar Nagar for several years. A few years ago, Paramasivam built a 25-ft long wall blocking the pathway to Ambedkar Nagar. The residents had other access road, but that was a circuitous one.
The residents had been demanding the government authorities to demolish the wall, evict the encroachments from the government land and restore the pathway.
However, no action was taken forcing the villagers to hoist black flags atop their houses last month. They also lodged a fresh complaint with the district administration, accusing the local revenue officials of acting hand in glove with Paramasivam.
As the district administration initiated a probe and found that the wall was built on government land, the authorities ordered demolition of the structure. A meeting was also conducted to assuage the dalits to withdraw the protest plans and Paramasivam was directed to demolish the wall on his own. But he refused claiming that he had ownership over the land.
So, the officials visited the spot along with police protection and razed down the structure. “We are happy that the wall has been removed. The fact that the wall was demolished on Periyar’s birth anniversary has made it even more remarkable,” M Samiraj, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar, said.
Officials admitted that a portion of the wall was built on government land encroached upon by Paramasivam but said it cannot be considered as a “untouchability wall,” as dalits had other passage way.
On the delay for demolishing the wall, the officials said that demolition could be done only after giving Paramasivam due notice and time to respond.
Courtesy : TOI
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