With two weeks left for the Vinayaka Chaviti celebrations, a number of schoolboys and the youth have hit the Srikalahasti-Chennai road in the eastern mandals, demanding ‘chandas’ (donations) from motorists, by blocking their vehicles with ropes and placing boulders on the road.
Though this phenomenon is considered a regular affair during the festival, the collection of donations used to be a couple of days prior to the occasion. This year, the youth have advanced their schedule by two weeks. Apart from stopping the SUVs, two-wheelers and lorries, the young batches have even gone to the extent of impeding the movement of the RTC buses, boarding them and demanding the passengers to shell down currency notes.
The motorists deplore that by tying ropes across the road and suddenly emerging on the road when the vehicles approach them, the donation collection has become a very risky thing, leading to accidents. When the motorists try to pass the blockades, the boys would resort to hitting the vehicles with sticks. The sudden presence of ropes before them would be even more risky to bike riders and incidents of their falling down were also reported. In some cases, the forcible collection would leave the motorists penniless.
When a vehicle hits any of the boys while escaping, it would lead to further trouble to the motorists. This development is widely reported in several villages in B.N. Kandriga and Varadaiahpalem mandals, bordering Tamil Nadu.
Some schoolboys bunking the classes have joined the donation collection at Avanti Colony and G.R. Darakasthu villages. Similar incidents were reported from Venugopalapuram, Nelavai and Karanimitta villages of B.N. Kandriga.
Picnickers targeted
Hundreds of picnickers from Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu who throng the scenic Ubbalamadugu Waterfalls between Varadaiahpalem and B.N. Kandriga mandals have become the target of the donation collectors.
Stopping their vehicles on the Chennai main road, the young batches would fleece them in the name of Lord Ganesh. In many cases, the youth are given to liquor parties and purchasing of mobiles with the money collected as the festival donation.
Some families, who suffered from the hands of the miscreants, want the police to mount vigil on the Srikalahasti-Chennai road and prevent the nuisance.
