ELURU: Dalits from Garagaparru in West Godavari district who were ostracised by some sections of the village last year staged a protest at the Collectorate on Monday demanding implementation of promises made by the Ministers’ team that visited the village after the social boycott incident hit the headlines.
Kula Vyatireeka Porata Samiti (KVPS) District Committee joint secretary K Kranti Babu said Dalits in Garagaparru have been discriminated against for the past seven months. “All promises made were reneged upon. Be it Ministers or bureaucrats, none have kept their word,” he pointed out. Last year, following differences over the installation of a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar, upper caste people of Garagaparru socially boycotted the Dalits.
Apart from being kept away from different functions in the village, they were also denied work. Kranthi Babu pointed out that no case was registered under SC, ST Atrocities Act against those responsible for the social boycott. Similarly, the promise of one acre of land for each Dalit in the village was also forgotten, he said. “Yacob, a Dalit, died during the agitation for justice. An ex gratia of `10 lakh was assured to his family, but not a paisa has been paid so far,” he said.
Later, about 200 Dalits met Joint Collector P Koteswara Rao and submitted a memorandum to him. Rao assured them that their problems would be solved soon. They also met SC, ST Commission member K Ramulu. He said he would take up the issue with the Collector.