Dalits enter, pray at temple near Chennai after 12 years

CHENNAI: Caste discrimination is still rampant on the outskirts of Chennai - at a village called Vazhuthalambedu in Gummidipoondi.
The dominant vanniyar community refuses to let scheduled castes walk through the streets to pray at the Bidari Ettiyamman Temple in the village.
On Monday, however, Tiruvallur collector Prabhu Sankar and superintendent of police Srinivasa Perumal intervened and ensured scheduled castes prayed at the temple.
But tension remains as a section of vanniyars objects to scheduled castes, who live in a colony outside the village, using the streets in front of their houses.
There is another path to the temple that doesn't pass through the vanniyar habitations. But the vanniyars have spread paddy to dry along this path and said no one should walk over it, said Prabhu Shankar who is holding talks to resolve the issue.
The problem has been there since the temple was built on poramboke land near a pond in 1958. In 1998, the HR&CE department took over administration of the temple.
But the temple was locked and sealed in 2002 after vanniyars objected to scheduled castes visiting the temple for the kumbhabhishekam, officials said.
The temple was reopened 10 years later for another kumbhabhishekam and the same story played out. It has remained out of bounds for scheduled castes since 2012. Community leaders said they stayed away to avoid trouble.
This year, the HR&CE department performed kumbhabhishekam on Aug 9 after a peace meeting on Aug 5 at which revenue officials hammered out a compromise between the two communities.
However, a day after the kumbhabhishekam, scheduled castes were again stopped from using the street that led to the temple. The temple was again locked and sealed by revenue officials.
Meanwhile, police registered a case against 1,500 people for preventing scheduled castes from entering the temple.
76L to resolve demands
Collector Prabhu Sankar said the govt has come up with a possible solution.
"We reviewed the revenue documents and confirmed that the 160 metres connecting the village to the temple was originally donated to the temple. Now, we have transferred the donated land and registered it in the HR&CE department's name, so that all the public can use the stretch. The district administration has agreed to lay a road to each the temple," he said.
"I patiently heard the grievances of both sides. The villagers asked for separate mantapams, separate provision for cremation and so on. We agreed to sanction 76 lakh to resolve their demands," said Prabhu Sankar.