VIRUDHUNAGAR: A 150-metre-long and 30-metre-high ‘untouchability’ wall, which was constructed on a poramboke land encroached upon by caste Hindus, allegedly to hide a cremation ground used by members of the SC community, was demolished by the authorities in Viswanatham panchayat of Sivakasi taluk on Monday.
The demolition came after the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front called for protests against the wall, alleging that it was built after encroaching upon the poramboke land.
According to K Samuel Raj, general secretary of Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front, around 120 SC families reside in the Mariamman Temple Street of Viswanatham panchayat, where they have a cremation ground located next to a land owned by caste Hindus. The wall was built to hide the cremation ground from the plots owned by caste Hindus, he said.
The front’s district secretary K Murugan said, “Initially, they had fenced the land before constructing the wall. Though the wall had collapsed earlier this year, they rebuilt it.
The objective was to hide the cremation ground from their plots. However, it disrupted the shifting of bodies to the crematorium. Though the front had submitted several representations to the district administration in this regard, there was no positive response until we announced protest seeking demolition.”