The wall being rebuilt in Mettupalayam (Photo Credits: Express )
Mettupalayam's 'Untouchability wall' up again amid criticisms
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The 'untouchability wall' in Mettuppalayam,Coimbatore is on final stage of construction again less than a year where another wall exactly with the same height had been collapsed in heavy rainfall on December 2019. The incident had killed 17 people including three children.
The 'untouchablility wall' which was built by Sivasubramaniam, an upper caste man from Nadur village was allegedly built in order to separate his Dalit neighbors from his 2 acres of property.
Residents in Nadur village says that the construction work of new 'Caste wall' is nearly on completion.
Subramaniam has informed that this time he has received permission from officials to rebuild the wall again.
Confirming the construction of wall, Mettuppalayam Municipality commissioner S Sureshkumar told in a press meet that "the owner's property is situated at an elevation of 14 feet from the surface on the other side. The Collector gave permission strictly instructing the owner to keep the height of the wall at just six feet from the surface of his property,"
A textile shop owner,S Sivasubramaniam has built a wall with a height of 20 feet tall to fence his property from Dalit settlement.
On December 2 night last year, due to heavy rainfall,the entire wall collapsed on row houses of Dalits and 17 of them occupying the houses were killed in the disaster.
During the course of time, Subramaniam was booked with Section 304 ii of IPC and Section 4 of Tamil Nadu property (Prevention of Damage &Loss) Act. Later within a month he got bail and released from custody.
His neighbors in Nadur alleged that "construction work of wall has begun about 20 days ago and has once again erected the wall with same height of the wall earlier".
According to the reports the newly raised wall is now about four to six feet from his ground level. This, is about 18 to 20 feet from the ground level.
See the new photos of 'Untouchability wall' (Photo Courtesy : In arrangement with Raees Mohammed, Dalit Camera)
Speaking to Madhyamam,Raees Mohammed, the founder of Dalit Camera responded that "It is not just a wall which can be removed soon from the mindset of castiest people,"
"Sivasubramaniam is constructing the untouchability wall for permanent. It all tells that untouchability wall is a survival symbol of caste discrimination," told Mohammed
" The rebuilt of caste wall shows the evidence of caste discrimination as permanent structure in Indian society. The basic undercurrent for all these things is that the idea of caste we imagined is a problem," he added
"From the rebuilt of this wall again shows that caste discrimination is a part of Indian culture and cannot remove it. Many people in Mettuppalayam are yet to understand that it is a caste wall. The wall is a symbol of brahmanical varna system". He further adds
Following the tragic incident in 2019 December many Dalit organizations and Human rights activists flooded to Coimbatore's Mettuppalayam to give solidarity for the protesting people in the place. Massive outrage had took place demanding justice for victims who died by the collapse of wall.
