Garagaparru Dalits stage dharna at Collectorate

Eluru: Dalits of Garagaparru village staged a dharna at District Collectorate here on Monday demanding implementation of the assurances made by the Ministers’ team in the village. The Dalits alleged that the Ministers’ team visited the village, where upper-caste people boycotted Dalits and assured of all assistance from the government. But, no assistance was received from the government.

Addressing the participants in the agitation, Kula Vyatireka Porata Samiti (KVPS) District Committee Joint Secretary K Kranti Babu has said that Dalits in Garagaparru have faced discrimination in the village for the past seven months. The Ministers’ team and officials team gave assurances which were not implemented so far, he alleged. As per the SC, ST Atrocities Act, every Dalit family should get one acre of land in the incidents of the social boycott. However, the district officials and the State government have been ignoring Dalits in the village.

He pointed out that leader Yacob died during an agitation and officials assured of Rs 10 lakh compensation. But no one gave the money to the bereaved family. About 200 Dalits went into the Collectorate, met Joint Collector P Koteswara Rao and submitted a memorandum. The Joint Collector assured them of solving their problems. Garagaparru Agitation leaders Ericharla Rajesh, A Suresh Babu, M Daveedu, D Mark, D Rajesh, K Solomon, Eluri Baburao, D Yesob, P Soubhagyam, D Mani and others led the agitation.

Later, Dalits led by KVPS leader, met the SC, ST Commission member K Ramulu at ZP Guest House in the evening. They told the member that the officials failed to reinstall Dr BR Ambedkar’s statue in the village. The financial assistance announced by the government under SC ST Atrocities Act was not given to the families of victims. The officials also did not allot the one acre of the land to the victims of social boycott as per the SC-ST Atrocities Act, they alleged.