PUDUKKOTTAI: A four-decade-long issue affecting residents of Ambedkar Nagar in Theeyathur village of Avudaiyarkoil taluk came to the fore once again on June 18. With the death of a resident, A Devi, following an illness, the Dalits of the village had to carry her body through a paddy field yet another time to reach the Adi Dravidar burial ground, owing to the lack of an access road.
Residents claimed that over 20 Scheduled Caste families living in Ambedkar Nagar have been facing the issue for over four decades. Though the burial ground is located about 500 metres from the settlement, there is no dedicated access road. They said the only available route passes through private agricultural land owned by a caste Hindu.
Following the woman’s death on Friday, villagers and activists once again urged the revenue administration to lay a permanent access road to the burial ground.
T Tholkapiyan, a resident and functionary of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, said repeated petitions submitted to district authorities and elected representatives over the years have gone in vain.
“We go through the same ordeal every time someone dies. The pathway needed to reach the burial ground need not be very big as the distance isn’t much. However, our pleas over the years seem to have fallen on deaf ears. It is a question of dignity in death,” he said.
K Muruganandham of Neelam Cultural Centre urged the administration to survey villages facing similar issues and provide access to burial grounds where pathways are unavailable.
A revenue official from Avudaiyarkoil told TNIE authorities will soon conduct a field inspection and, if necessary, convene a peace meeting to arrive at an amicable resolution.