Ever since the death of eight-year-old Sai Praveen a week ago, the Narikurava community has been hesitant to send their wards there.
“The death of this young boy sheds light on the treatment meted out to children from our community. How can we be sure that the next victim is not one of ours?” asked Manoharan, a resident of Gypsy Colony, Kotturpuram.
There are currently 1,338 hostels for Backward classes, Most Backward classes and Denotified communities functioning across the State, including four in Chennai — Mannadi, Triplicane, Saidapet and Guindy.
The hostels facilitate over 80,000 boarders.
ld Sai Praveen in a hostel a week ago