Forty-one Dalit students of the Panchayat Union Middle School at Veppamarathur village near Bommidi in Dharmapuri district boycotted the classes on Monday alleging that they were being discriminated against, and maintained that the water in the overhead tank in the school was poisoned to cause harm to them.

Ten of these students and their parents submitted a petition to District Collector K. Vivekanandan, demanding an end to the discrimination. They also sought a compound wall and a new building for the school.

It was alleged in the petition that trouble began ever since caste-Hindus announced a boycott of the family of S. Sudha, a Dalit who got married to G. Suersh, a Vanniyar (caste-Hindu).

P. Sekaran, the leader of the Dalits at Veppamarathur Colony, the students and their parents recounted how three students P. Sakthi (13), M. Sakthivel (9), and S. Karthika (7) were taken ill after consuming water from the school tank.

The Collector assured the students and the others of appropriate action in two days.

When contacted S. Nagarajan, District Elementary Education Officer told The Hindu that the main school building had two classrooms and the dilapidated building on the opposite side had two classrooms. The district administration was taking efforts to survey the land behind the school for construction of new building with toilet, drinking water, and other basic amenities, he said.

The Collector also ordered an inquiry by the Revenue Divisional Officer on a petition submitted by Dalits of Kondampatti Colony at Naickenkottai Village that they were being discriminated against ever since Ilavarasan, a Dalit youth of Natham Colony married Divya, a caste-Hindu girl in 2012. More than 250 houses of Dalits were attacked on November 7, 2012. Ilavarasan was later found dead along a railway track after Divya wanted to live with her mother.

The Dalits alleged on Monday that hate speeches were being made against them and hair dressers, grocery shops and flour mills were turning them away. 

Source :: The Hindu