Judges reach out to women of clash-hit coast
(with a pic: 23tvmpm-Judge: Principal District Judge S.S. Vasan
addressing women at a coastal village in Malappuram on Monday)
Abdul Latheef Naha
Staff Reporter
MALAPPURAM: The women and children of four trouble-torn coastal
villages in the district opened a floodgate of woes in front of two
senior judges who went to them on Monday.
Principal District Judge S.S. Vasan and Sub Judge Rajan Thattil
visited the coastal villages of Unniyal, Koottai, Padinharekkara and
Tanur as part of the District Legal Service Authority (DLSA)’s
initiative to find a permanent solution to political clashes along the
coast.
Those places were badly affected by recent clashes between the CPI(M)
and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). The political motives
apart, the clashes between two or more groups of the same villages
have crippled normal life along the coast. Worst affected were women
and children.
Mr. Vasan and Mr. Thattil, who are chairman and secretary respectively
of the DLSA, reminded the women of their crucial role in restoring
normalcy.
The abuse of liquor and drugs popped up during the interactions at
four places as the chief villain behind the trouble. When politics
came up as the second most important element behind the clashes,
religious parochialism played the third.
Mr. Vasan and Mr. Thattil underscored the need for a joint initiative
involving judiciary, police, excise and civic bodies to bring about a
change in people’s emotional attitude in the clash-affected areas.
They suggested formation of bodies like residents’ associations to
bring about cohesiveness within the community irrespective of cast,
politics and religion.
People demanded that normalcy be restored soon and they should be able
to move out freely at night, especially as the Islamic holy month of
Ramzan is near the corner.
The judges offered to examine the possibility of mediation to settle
dozens of clash-related cases.
A large group of senior officials, including District Police
Superintendent Debeshkumar Behara, Assistant Excise Commissioner
Balakrishnan, Child Welfare Committee Chairman M. Manikandan,
accompanied the judges.
Ends
