Dalits in affected colonies resume fast late at night

In the evening the agitation was called off on MLA’s persuasion

November 30, 2012 10:57 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 04:23 am IST - DHARMAPURI:

After calling off their fast on Thursday evening, the Dalits of Natham, Kondampatti and Anna Nagar colonies resumed it late in the night, insisting that those who were behind the November 7 attack on their colonies be arrested immediately.

The Dalits had called off the fast for a while after MLA Dilli Babu persuaded them to do so, saying such an agitation within their colonies would not yield results. He asked to meet officials and make appropriate representations.

The residents, however, decided later that they would have to continue with the fast in their colonies to draw the attention of the authorities to their demand. The children, however, were sent to schools and colleges. One of the girls, Mangammal (20) of Natham Colony, who was on fast on Thursday was now in a critical condition at the Salem Super Speciality Hospital.

Dean of the hospital R. Vallinayagam told The Hindu that she showed symptoms of dengue and her condition was being monitored in the intensive care unit. P. Palanisamy, a former Naxalite from the colony, said the girl was traumatised after witnessing the attack on the colonies.

Since Thursday afternoon, 42 fasting Dalits — 25 from Natham and 17 from Kondampatti colonies were admitted to the Dharmapuri Government Medical College Hospital after they complained of uneasiness.

Revenue Divisional Officer P. Subramani met the agitating Dalits and told them that the administration was waiting for government approval for rehabilitation measures.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.