Dalits from Karandiapatana village under Mehendipur Gram Panchayat under Marshaghai block on Monday urged District Collector Durga Prasad Behera for a primary school and a road in their village after the upper caste people assaulted and ostracized them over a land dispute in February, 2010.
District Welfare Officer (DWO) Charulata Mallick said the Dalits met the District Collector in the grievance cell and told him that their children were earlier abused and misbehaved with by the upper caste villagers when they attended the school. Their children were told not to use the road which passes through the houses of upper caste people.
They said the Dalits were harassed for over three years. They said that they were forced to admit their children in a neighbouring school at Japada, about 1.5 km from the village after taking school leaving certificate from the local school. District Collector Behera directed the DPC of SSA to take steps for sanctioning a project primary school for the Dalits and a road.
When contacted, SSA DPC Kailash Chandra Das stated that the district administration has written to the Mass Education department for sanctioning a project primary school for the Dalit children.
Notably, the Dalits of Karandiapatana village drew the wrath of the upper caste people on February 18, 2010 over digging of earth from a Goochar land for the construction of a Hanuman temple. The upper caste people forcibly entered into their houses and ransacked the houses by throwing household items, utensils and clothes by damaging valuable household items. Even they had allegedly molested the Dalit women.
later, the police had nabbed 10 upper caste persons for creating the mayhem. At least 25 Dalit children of Karandiapatana village in Kendrapada district's Marsaghai block had allegedly been compelled to obtain school leaving certificates (SlC) from Surendra Vidyapith in Rankal village and got themselves admitted to another school.
The National Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe Department had funded sum of Rs 2.09 lakh as financial assistance to the Dalit victims of the village. later, the district administration had distributed compensation amount to 43 Dalits.
Notably, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) in March, 2010 had intervened in the matter and sought report from the District Collector and the SP on the issue.