JANGAON: As many as 25 families of the Kummari community have been boycotted by BC community leaders in Oblakeshvapur village of Jangaon mandal for the past three months. The boycotted families approached Warangal police and lodged a complaint on Thursday.
K Chandraiah, a member of the community, told TNIE that his community’s families are engaged in pottery work and supply pots for village functions.
“There has been an internal clash between the BC and SC community members in the village. The SC members have refused to work for BC families. Following this, BC president N Pedda Komuraiah and vice-president D Uppalaiah instructed BC families to stay away from SC families,” Chandraiah said.
He added that though the Kummari community is also categorised as BC, they were unaware of the dispute. “As part of our vocation, we handed over pots to SC families for Bonalu celebrations. On learning this, Komuraiah and Uppalaiah directed the villagers to boycott us and not to purchase pots from our families. They told them to buy from Jangaon instead,” he said.
“After hearing of the boycott, we questioned Komuraiah and Uppalaiah, who said we supported SC families. That is why they boycotted us,” he added.
Following the complaint, the DCP instructed Jangaon Inspector P Satyanarayana Reddy to visit the village. He held a meeting with BC and Kummari community members and explained the possible legal consequences of continuing the boycott.
Chandraiah said that even after the meeting, the BC leaders’ stance remained unchanged. “They still say it is wrong to speak to SC people,” he stated.
The inspector said, “We have given them two days to resolve the issue, failing which we will take action.”