Tamil Nadu OBCs refuse to allow ‘Dalit drain’ pass through village

COIMBATORE: Tension prevails in a village in Coimbatore with the dominant pooluva gounder community stalling the work to provide a drainage system for the residents of a nearby adi dravidar colony. Police have beefed up security in the locality to prevent any untoward incidents.

Ottarpalayam village panchayat officials said they started work on the drainage at the adi dravidar colony at Pooluvapalayam near Annur four months ago.

“Our plan was to link it with the drainage that was constructed three decades ago in the area where the dominant community people live. When we started the final linkage work, pooluva gounders stalled it stating they wouldn’t allow sewage water from the Scheduled Caste settlement to pass through the drainage in their area,” one of the officials told TOI.

She said they had demolished a part of the old drainage network to link the new one by widening it.

The official said the sewage water was stagnating in the drainage in the adi dravidar colony area a few months ago. “We then decided to dig a big pit near the overhead tank in the village to divert the sewage water. However, the dominant community people objected to this move as well, stating that the sewage water will mix with the drinking water.”

As tension escalated between the two communities, authorities were forced to conduct peace meetings. However, the people of pooluva gounder community were in no mood to change their stance. At least 15 police personnel have been guarding the village for more than a week.

Courtesy : TOI

Note: This news piece was originally published in timesofindia.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights