Tamil Nadu - Vellore
Dalit helpline to be revived soon
Staff Reporter
It will be a centralised and toll-free facility
VELLORE: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes will soon revive
the "Dalit Helpline." It will be a centralised and toll-free facility,
according to Member of the commission Latha Priyakumar.
"Such a helpline is necessary to help Adi Dravidars . They should feel
confident to call and can report any atrocity. The helpline is
currently not functional and will be restored soon. Similarly, the
commission's website will also be revived after holding discussions,"
she told reporters following a consultation meeting on Wednesday.
Prior to Vellore, Ms. Priyakumar had visited Tiruvallur and
Kancheepuram districts. "We held discussions with the Collector and
met officials of various departments. We looked into the injustices
and atrocities faced by Adi Dravidars and what action the district
administration has taken. Secondly, we saw the development and
maintenance of Adi Dravidar welfare schools and hostels and facilities
for children of the community. We have provided suggestions to the
district administration," she said.
A suggestion to supply sanitary napkins to girl students in schools
and hostels had been put forward. "At present, one mat is being
provided for children in Adi Dravidar hostels for two years. We have
suggested to the Collector to provide one mat for six months. This
could be carried out through private sponsors too," the member noted.
Establishing games facilities at welfare hostels was also suggested.
"It was pointed out that students of welfare schools were scoring low
in academics and so we have suggested conducting extra coaching for
their academic improvement," Ms. Priyakumar said.
About the implementation of SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
she said that in her experience, conviction was "quite good."
"However, the delay between filing case and redressal is too long. A
person belonging to the SC community needs courage to complain,
usually against the majority community which might later suppress the
case. This may not be the problem if the timeframe is shortened.
Awareness of the act is quite good in Tamil Nadu when compared to
other States," she said.
In Vellore, 25 cases had been registered under the Act so far this
year – eight had been referred to the Collector, nine were under trial
in court and eight under investigation.
The member said the commission would recommend for enhanced funding
for certain schemes for Adi Dravidar such as scholarships. This would
be decided after thorough study.
Collector C. Rajendran was present.
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