Plea to build bridge across the river in flood-prone areas
The villagers from Chidambarapuram said the 77-year-old narrow bridge connecting their village with Kalakkad got submerged whenever there was a downpour in the Western Ghats and hence this structure had become weak. A pregnant woman was washed away in the flash flood on Deepavali eve in 2021 and eight persons have died far at this place.
Hence, the Collector, considering the public safety, should instruct the officials concerned to construct a flyover after demolishing the existing bridge.
'If the government refuses to construct the new elevated bridge, we'll boycott the upcoming Assembly election,' said D. Yogarajan, vice-president of Chidambarapuram village committee.
On behelf of the Dravida Thamizhar Katchi, its district secretary A. Sundar submitted a petition seeking patta for 10 Arunthathiyar families living in Kannanallur Kaspa near Thisaiyanvilai. The families, living there for the past four generations, were paying the taxes to the local body and the electricity bill. Hence, the patta should be given to the families, he said.
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Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
10-foot ‘caste wall' comes down, fragile peace holds in a Tamil Nadu village
For nearly three weeks, in the heart of Muthuladampatti village in Tamil Nadu's Karur district, stood a concrete wall — 200 feet long, 10 feet high — separating two settlements that had long lived in uneasy proximity. Those who built it, members of the Thottia Naicker community, said it was a barrier to keep out 'outsiders' who, they claimed, loitered and drank in the area. To those who lived on the other side — the Arunthathiyars, a Scheduled Caste, historically at the bottom of the social hierarchy — it was something else entirely: a 'wall of untouchability'. The structure, they said, was not about keeping out strangers. It was about keeping them out. The dispute that followed unfolded with complaints, denials, tense public meetings, and finally, under the glare of police lights and amid heavy rain, the wall's demolition in the early hours of Sunday morning — carried out not by the government, but by members of the very community that had erected it. Muthuladampatti lies just a kilometre from the Karur Collector's office. In terms of social geography, it is divided by more than roads. Around 200 Thottia Naicker families and roughly 45 Arunthathiyar families live in separate settlements, their histories intertwined with Tamil Nadu's complex caste order. The Thottia Naickers, an intermediate caste with historical ties to warrior and leadership roles, predominantly inhabit western and central Tamil Nadu districts. They have been politically active in regional parties. The land where the wall was built is recognised historically as theirs for community use, including a temple and stage for events. In contrast, the Arunthathiyars have been historically marginalised and socially disadvantaged, often facing severe caste-based discrimination and segregation. Their requests for shared public facilities on the land were repeatedly denied, fuelling tensions. The land where the wall appeared is 1.25 acres of poramboke — public land — long under the informal possession of the Thottia Naickers. The Arunthathiyars, who have their own temple within their settlement, have for years asked for a share of the land to build a public toilet and their own stage for cultural events, particularly during the annual festival of Sri Muthumariamman temple, known for the goddess of rain and fertility. Arunthathiyars' requests were repeatedly turned down. Recently, they allege, their attempts to build a stage and toilet on the land were physically blocked. Then, in mid-July, the wall began to come up. According to the Arunthathiyars, the Thottia Naickers collected contributions from each household, mobilised men and women to work quickly, and finished the structure at lightning speed. A village Panchayath official told The Indian Express that they had orally instructed them to stop the wall construction following a complaint. The Arunthathiyars called it a 'wall of untouchability'. One of the residents from the Arundhatiyar community in the area, who is associated with local community services of the government, requesting anonymity citing the truce talks, said they raised a complaint as the wall was evidently 'preventing free access to the areas where caste Hindus live'. 'It was an insult, so we raised it as a clear case of caste discrimination,' he said. The Arundhatiyar community said they were also de facto prohibited from entering upper-caste areas wearing footwear, being shouted at if they did, and being denied use of the existing stage. The Thottia Naickers, however, rejected these allegations during mediation talks held in the midst of the controversy. According to them, it was some outsiders who 'problematised' things to trigger caste clashes. They claimed that the wall, built on land in their possession for ages, was to essentially keep the outsiders, who allegedly created trouble under the influence of alcohol. By early August, the wall had become a flashpoint. The Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front condemned it, calling for its removal. Road blockades by Arunthathiyars followed. Two peace meetings — one chaired by the Tahsildar on July 13 and another by the Revenue Divisional Officer on July 29 — failed to resolve the impasse. Impasse, then a breakthrough On August 7, RDO M Mohammed Byzal served an eviction notice to the Thottia Naicker community, citing violations — the land was government property and no construction permit had been obtained. The wall, he said, had been built despite warnings at the July 29 meeting. The notice gave 15 days for removal, but with tensions high and the potential for clashes real, a second, more urgent notice arrived late on August 8 — remove the wall by 11 am the next day, or officials would do it themselves. That night, members of the Thottia Naicker community staged a sit-in protest at the Collector's office. They returned home only after being told the demolition would go ahead regardless. On the morning of August 9, around 200 police officers, led by Superintendent of Police K Josh Thangaiah, took up position near the wall. Caste Hindu women formed a human barrier, standing in front of it. The SP convened a peace meeting at the Tahsildar's office, bringing leaders from both groups to the same table. Revenue officials, including the RDO and Tahsildar, joined in. After hours of talks — described later as 'direct and indirect' — the Thottia Naicker representatives agreed to dismantle the wall themselves. By 3.30 pm, the work began. By 9.30 pm, the wall was down; by 2.30 am, after heavy rain, the foundation was gone. Police and plainclothes officers kept watch throughout. The SP urged members of both communities not to inflame tensions, and advised those who had pressed for the demolition not to celebrate. On Sunday, an uneasy calm hung over Muthuladampatti, according to the office of the SP. 'Police pickets were posted at multiple points. Officials promised round-the-clock security,' said a senior officer requesting anonymity. 'It is very sensitive. It can be about winning and defeating each other. In changing times, even officers' religion and caste would also be used to trigger tension,' he said. In several rural pockets in Tamil Nadu, such walls are not mere concrete structures, but symbols, contested and potent, in the long battle over caste and access. 'The removal of the wall happening without violence is not a rare phenomenon; local administrations have facilitated similar mediations in the past in many places,' the officer said. Asked about the entrenched segregation, disputes over shared spaces, and the weight of historical discrimination, he said they all remain standing, 'even if the wall does not'. 'We can convince and remove physical walls, but those in the mind can be removed only through political work. Politicians should do that,' he said. Similar incidents The Uthapuram caste wall near Madurai, a 12-foot-high, 600-metre-long wall erected by dominant castes, had faced intense protests from 2007 onward. A partial demolition occurred in 2008 to allow Dalits access, though caste violence continued for years afterwards. In Thokammur village, Tiruvallur district, an eight-month campaign led to the demolition in 2022 of a wall built in 2016 by the numerically dominant Reddiyar caste to restrict Adi Dravidar Dalits from accessing temple land and community space. In Virudhunagar district, a 150-metre-long wall built on government land to hide a Dalit cremation ground behind caste Hindu properties was demolished in 2024 after sustained protests by Dalit organisations. In Coimbatore district, a 20-foot-long wall constructed in 1989 to block Dalits' access to the main road was finally demolished in 2010 following advocacy by the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front. A 20-foot-high wall in Mathoor village, Kallakkurichi district, which prevented Dalits' access to schools and healthcare, was ordered removed by the revenue divisional officer after mass protests in 2023. A recent instance in Trichy district includes a nine-foot wall separating Dalit colonies from farms that triggered protests in 2021.
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Plea to build bridge across the river in flood-prone areas
Appealing to District Collector R. Sukumar to construct a flyover across the river flowing near their village, a group of people from Chidambarapuram near Kalakkad submitted a petition on Monday. The villagers from Chidambarapuram said the 77-year-old narrow bridge connecting their village with Kalakkad got submerged whenever there was a downpour in the Western Ghats and hence this structure had become weak. A pregnant woman was washed away in the flash flood on Deepavali eve in 2021 and eight persons have died far at this place. Hence, the Collector, considering the public safety, should instruct the officials concerned to construct a flyover after demolishing the existing bridge. 'If the government refuses to construct the new elevated bridge, we'll boycott the upcoming Assembly election,' said D. Yogarajan, vice-president of Chidambarapuram village committee. On behelf of the Dravida Thamizhar Katchi, its district secretary A. Sundar submitted a petition seeking patta for 10 Arunthathiyar families living in Kannanallur Kaspa near Thisaiyanvilai. The families, living there for the past four generations, were paying the taxes to the local body and the electricity bill. Hence, the patta should be given to the families, he said.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Caste Hindus begin razing ‘untouchability wall' in Karur after revenue officials, police intervene
Hindus belonging to Thottia Naicker community, an intermediate caste, who had built an 'untouchability wall' allegedly to prevent access to people belonging to Arunthathiyar community, a Scheduled Caste, at Muthuladampatti in Karur in Tamil Nadu began removing the structure on Saturday amid tight security. The wall, measuring about 200 feet in length and 10 feet in height, was raised about three weeks ago on a piece of government poramboke land despite strong objections raised immediately by residents from the SC community who alleged that it was a 'wall of untouchability'. Since the erection of the wall, it became a bone of contention between the caste Hindus and the SC community members. While the SC population claimed that the wall was meant to deny them access to areas where the caste Hindus lived, the caste Hindus denied the charge and claimed they had built the wall to prevent anti-social activities by 'outsiders' under the influence of alcohol. Members of the same intermediate caste had reportedly blocked attempts by the Arunthathiyars to build a stage for organising programmes during the annual Sri Muthumariamman Temple festival, and a public toilet on poramboke land. The Revenue department had served a notice a few days ago on the 'Kothukarar', leader of the intermediate caste group, to remove the wall within 15 days, citing that the land on which the wall had been raised was a government poramboke land. Moreover, no permission had been obtained to construct the wall. However, the community representatives contented that the wall was not meant to deny access to the SC people but to prevent the anti-social activities of 'outsiders'. They refused to tear down the wall. Potential to stoke caste clash Since the issue had the potential to cause caste clashes in the area, the Revenue department served one more notice on Friday night directing the caste Hindus to remove the wall by 11 a.m. on Saturday (August 9, 2025). Strongly opposing the action, a large number of them staged a sit-in protest at the Collector Office on Friday night. They returned to their settlement after revenue officials made it clear that the wall would be demolished on Saturday. As the revenue and police personnel, led by Karur Superintendent of Police K. Josh Thangaiah, began to assemble at the controversial site on Saturday morning, the leaders of the intermediate caste group came forward to destroy the wall on their own. They began to dismantle the wall in the afternoon. No press and media persons were allowed to take pictures of the operation. M. Mohamed Bysal, Revenue Divisional Officer, Karur, told The Hindu that a portion of the wall had already been removed. The remaining portion, including the foundation, would be completely removed by Sunday afternoon. The members of both the caste groups had been asked to extend cooperation for the smooth completion of the task.
