Pudukottai Collector leads temple entry of Dalits in T.N. village, detects two-tumbler system at Vengaivayal
The Hindu
Adi Dravidar families had complained of being barred from entering the Sri Ayyanar temple in the village, for decades. Two including a woman have been booked under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. A WhatsApp number — 9443314417 — has been created for residents to inform any form of discrimination
The prevalence of the two-tumbler system at a tea shop came to light during an inspection by Pudukottai Collector Kavitha Ramu at Vengaivayal on Tuesday, a day after human faeces were found floating in an overhead tank supplying drinking water to Adi Dravidar families.
The Collector also led the Dalits into a temple that was allegedly out of bounds for them.
Accompanied by Superintendent of Police Vandita Pandey and officials, Ms. Kavitha Ramu spent nearly two hours at Vengaivayal in the Muthukadu panchayat interacting with the villagers.
She also inspected a medical camp organised in the wake of drinking water contamination. She directed officials to supply water to the Adi Dravidar families from a bigger overhead tank situated at the same village.
The Collector has constituted a committee of officials — including the Revenue Divisional Officer; the Project Officer, District Rural Development Agency; the Adi Dravidar Welfare Officer; and a police officer of the rank of a Deputy Superintendent — to conduct an inquiry to find out the person who had contaminated the drinking water supplied to the 31 Adi Dravidar families.
A police inquiry was also under way, led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Pudukottai Town. The Vellanur police have booked a case under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Ms. Kavitha Ramu told The Hindu over the phone that the villagers did not suspect anyone in particular of having committed the crime.
Prarthana Prasad is a social media influencer, entrepreneur and a leading voice from the LGBTQ+ community. At a recent Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Conclave held in Bengaluru she opened up about how she is often a “token ticket” for the corporate world, increasingly contacted by brands for promotion during Pride Month.