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Buses, tempos go off the roads

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, SEPT. 7. Town buses and other vehicles went off the roads today in view of the `dawn-to-dusk' bandh called by the Puratchiyalar Ambedkar Thondarpadai to register the Dalits' protest against the Delimitation Commission's proposal to redraw Assembly constituencies in the Union Territory.

The group says that while pockets with a larger population of Dalits were not considered for inclusion in the list of reserved segments in the urban areas of Pondicherry and Oulgaret Municipalities, areas with a lesser number of the Scheduled Caste residents were being made reserved constituencies. This was injurious to their welfare, it said.

All inter-State bus services were operated under police escort. Town buses and tempos did not ply in Pondicherry. Schools, shops and other establishments remained closed in the main commercial centres, although vegetable and fish markets were open for business at some places. Patients coming to hospitals were affected because of the absence of local bus services.

Police pickets

The police pickets were posted in strength at vulnerable pockets. The Superintendent of Police, S. Shanmughasundaram, supervised the security arrangements at key points.

A police source said unidentified persons stoned three buses, including an inter-State bus, on the outskirts of Pondicherry.

The police arrested some 80 persons near Odiansalai when they attempted to take out a procession in support of the bandh.

Meanwhile, the Pondicherry Government Whip, P. Rajavelu, has opposed the move to redraw the territorial map of the Assembly segments, particularly the reserved pockets.

Mr. Rajavelu, representing the Bahoor reserved segment, told newsmen here that he had faxed a memorandum to the State Election Commissioner pointing out that the move would do `injustice' to the Dalits, particularly when there was absence of basic parameters such as details of the size of the Scheduled Caste population and their standard of living and the economic development of reserved segments.

CPI welcomes proposal

The secretary of Pondicherry State committee of the Communist party of India (CPI), N. Kalainathan, however welcomed the delimitation proposals.

He said he had sent a letter to the Commission Chairman welcoming the proposed delimitation on the basis of the 2001 population census of Pondicherry.

The party suggested constituency-wise features for redrawing the territorial limits.

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