Chennai, Feb 16 (IANS): Thoothukudi district collector Dr K. Senthil Raj will soon hold a peace meeting with representatives of Dalits and the Nadar community amid complaints about Dalits being prevented from using the road to the funeral ground.
It was in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu that an overhead drinking water tank that supplies water to a Dalit colony in Vengavayil panchayath was found with human excreta.
Security has also been beefed up at Manakkarai village as Dalits belonging to the Pallar community complained that the Nadar community members were not allowing them to take the dead body of their community people from accessing a public road for the funeral procession.
Thoothukudi sub-collector, Gaurav Raj has already visited the colony and assessed the situation.
The issue came to light when a group of Nadar community members prevented the Pallar community (SC) members from taking the body of Mookan (73) through the public road in their village to the funeral ground.
The Dalits have to wade through knee-deep muddy water to reach the funeral ground through another route which is 1 km more. The Pallar community members have now requested the district administration to build a separate road through the agricultural fields.
It is to be noted that there are around 200 Dalit families who live in Keezhur, Manakkari panchayath and they have to traverse around 3 km to reach the burial ground which is situated on the banks of river Tamiraibharani.
A Pallar community member, Kasinathan while speaking to IANS said, "The Nadar community members object to us taking the bodies of our near and dear to the burial ground and it is our tradition and belief to give the last rites to them at our native soil."
Kasinathan cited the example of some Dalit families taking the bodies to Tirunelveli and other places for funerals.
However, Nadar community members told IANS that they were opposed to the Dalit funeral procession through the common road as the Dalits used to make casteist remarks against them and also throw flowers at their homes which are situated on the roads through which the procession passed.