NAMAKKAL: After decades of struggle, the Namakkal district administration opened the doors of the Maha Mariamman Temple in Veesanam village for members of the SC community. The village, located in Namakkal, has over three SC communities such as Adi Dravidar, Arunthathiyar and Devendrakula Velalar and consists of around 200 families. There are also around 400 families of caste Hindus of BC and MBC communities, with the majority being Kongu Vellalars.
On Monday, M Alexander (32), a carpenter representing Devendrakula Velalar petitioned Namakkal Collector Dr S Uma, stating that SC persons were not allowed to enter the Mariamman temple, and they were denied permission to walk on fire during the temple festival. Based on the petition, the collector convened a peace committee meeting, and on Tuesday, Namakkal RDO Shanthi conducted a meeting with the petitioners and caste Hindus.
Around 3.30 pm on Tuesday, Devendrakula Velalar persons entered the temple for the first time since the temple was constructed.
Alexander told TNIE, “It’s a dream come true. Although the temple is under the control of the HR&CE department since decades, we were not allowed inside.” R Palanisamy (60), who hails from the Kongu Vellalar community, told TNIE that ancestors from their community built the temple and followed the customs for decades. “Even a few years ago, about Rs 1 crore was spent by people of our community from six villages,” he said.”
Namakkal SP S Rajesh Kannan told TNIE that the centuries-old issue was solved within a day by the district administration. The temple was constructed around 1930. Police were deployed in the village to prevent any untoward incidents.”