Activists of the Dalit Bhoo Avakasha Samara Munnani have decided to take their agitation to the State capital.
An indefinite strike will begin before the Secretariat shorty, announced its leaders on Sunday evening after an aborted attempt to organise a Dalit Self-Respect convention at Choondi junction near here.
Dalits have been fighting against what they term ‘a caste wall’ built around the community space in their neighbourhood at Vadayampady, east of Kochi, for over a year.
Choondi junction witnessed some tense moments on the day as activists of the Munnani and those belonging to Hindu groups, along with those affiliated to some temples in the region, shouted slogans against each other.
As tension built up in the region, the police removed the Munnani activists and held them in different police stations under preventive custody. The Puthencruz police station premises reverberated with Jai Bhim and Azadi slogans for around two hours as the activists, including women, who were housed inside the Puthencruz station, shouted slogans.
The Munnani activists complained that the police removed only their supporters from the scene though the Hindu activists shouted slogans against them.
An all-party meeting convened by the Ernakulam District Collector on Saturday had decided that the ground would remain accessible to all and no wall would be there.
It was also decided that no construction would be permitted on the holding.
A group of social activists demanded the intervention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the issue. Social activists B.R.P. Bhaskar, P.A. Pouran, Paul Zacharia, K. Satchidanandan, B. Rajeevan and C.S. Venkiteswaran protested against the police action.
The social activists also demanded the release of Joy Pavel, one of the leaders of the protest, from police custody.
