HOSUR, September 7, 2011
After 35 years, gate erected by caste Hindus to be removed
R. Arivanantham
It was to prevent Dalits from entering the area
A gate erected on Dalit Street 35 years ago to prevent Dalits from
entering the area occupied by upper caste Hindus will be removed.
Though it was kept open in the last five years, the 75-odd Dalit
families used to avoid the street out of fear. They used to go to the
MGR market via Royakottai main road.
The street falls in Reserved Ward No. 5 in Hosur Municipality.
The Dalits were also denied basic amenities such as drinking water,
drainage and toilet facilities. Many times they were attacked by caste
Hindus when they raised their voice against such discrimination.
About 75 families are living in 25 houses allotted by the government
when Appavu Pillai was the president of Hosur panchayat. Eighteen
members of four families are forced to live in a small house built on
436 sq ft in Dalit Street near the Therpettai Eri and Government Boys
Higher Secondary School.
When drinking water connections were provided to the residences of
caste Hindus, only two public taps were provided to Dalits. Even these
were not properly installed.
Devi and M. Pappamma said that if water spilled out of the pot on to
the street caste Hindus would abuse them. As a result, the Dalit
families did not clean the entrance to their houses with water or draw
'kolam,' something they used to do early in the morning.
Only 17 of the residents have toilet facilities. The rest used open
space. A toilet for the Dalit Street was constructed three years back
at Kamaraj Colony. But to use it the Dalits have to take the
Hosur-Royakottai State Highway, says Kutty, an auto driver.
Devi, a resident of Dalit Street, told The Hindu that she constructed
a small septic tank in front of her house and cleared it once in three
months, as there was no drainage facility.
On September 4, caste Hindu boys riding a two-wheeler hit a Dalit, R.
Seena alias Srinivasan. He has been admitted to NIMHANS Hospital in
Bangalore with severe head injury. His wife S. Pallavi is nine month
pregnant. The caste Hindus also attacked the house of Srinivasan.
The police have arrested G. Mohan, Sekar, Saravanan, Babu and Murali
in this connection. A case has been registered under the SC/ST Act 3
(1) (X). Search is on for Bapanna, another accused in the case.
V. Sethu Madhavan, CPI (M) union secretary; P. Muniraj, member,
district committee, and L. Aswath Narayanan, district secretary,
Democratic Youth Federation of India, visited the area on Tuesday.
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