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Homeless Dalit family's grievances redressed |
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Written by Kumar Shakti Shekhar
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Friday, 20 November 2009 |
 Bhopal: Bhupati Das is a happy man now. A Dalit from a village in Betul district, Das and his family were driven out from their village about three months ago for being atheists. While the police have now assured him of security, the administration, besides ordering construction of a new house for the family, has provided monetary and material support to them.
Das and his family were isolated in their village Sangi in Multai tehsil for being Kabirpanthis. The villagers blamed Das for the failure of the monsoon and accused him of using black magic to stop the clouds from raining. On August 22, they allegedly razed his house and threatened him and members of his family to leave the village.
Out of fear, Das, his wife, three daughters and a son started living in a friend’s place in a village nearby. The villagers did not stop pursuing Das even there. Last week, they threatened his friend and asked him to drive them out of his house or else face consequences. Succumbing to the threats, the friend asked Das and his family to leave his house.
Das and his family came to Betul town and started living on the railway platform and roadside pavements. The Pioneer had reported the first story on Das’s ordeals on September 7. The second story was published on Tuesday (November 17) while he and his family were homeless.
Taking cognisance of The Pioneer reports, particularly the second one, SP Betul RL Prajapati, Additional SP Dharmendra Singh Bhadoria and Multai SDO (Police) Bhupendra Singh Sengar swung into action and got in touch with Das. They assured him providing security if he returned to his village.
Betul Collector VA Kureel, on his part, immediately sanctioned Rs 35,000 for a house to the family under Indira Awas Yojana. Talking to The Pioneer, Kureel said, “I felt that Das’s grievance was genuine and he was in urgent need of help.”
The Collector acceded to Das’s other demands too like sanctioning Rs 2,000 for livelihood, 20 kg wheat, 5 kg rice and 2 kg dal, Rs 1,000 to buy fuel, spices and the likes and beds - all either from various schemes for SCs or his discretionary powers. Kureel has also arranged hostel accommodation to his two grown-up daughters.
Armed with all this help and assurances, Das is all set to start a new life. He said, “I am going to my relative’s house for a short stay. Then, I’ll go to my village and stay there if the villagers allow. Otherwise, I will choose another village to build a house and lead a peaceful life.”
(Source: The Pioneer, November 20, 2009, http://www.dailypioneer.com/217083/Homeless-Dalit-family%27s-grievances-redressed.html ) |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 24 November 2009 )
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