The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : After Kandadevi, focus on reserved panchayat polls

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 17, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

After Kandadevi, focus on reserved panchayat polls

S. Vijay Kumar

Measures to hold successful elections

MADURAI: With the Melavalavu death anniversary and Kandadevi temple car festival passing off peacefully, the focus of the official machinery has now shifted to the four reserved panchayats in Madurai and Virudhunagar districts, where elections could not be held successfully over the years.

The reserved panchayats of Pappapatti, Keeripatti and Nattarmangalam in Madurai district and Kottakachiyendal in Virudhunagar district remain a scar on the democratic face of Tamil Nadu. The dominant caste Hindus in these villages not only ensured that the repeated attempts to restore democracy failed but also made a mockery of the whole exercise by fielding a Dalit candidate of their choice for the sake of contesting, winning and resigning immediately after the elections.

Bringing about a change

Though Nattarmangalam had a Dalit president in 1996, Pappapatti, Keeripatti and Kottakachiyendal remained without an elected body since a decade. At a juncture when electing a Dalit president appeared a mission impossible and polls becoming a ritual once in six months, the Madurai district administration is looking at bringing about a change this year. Elections for the reserved panchayats are due this October.

The Collector, T. Udhaychandran, visited Pappapatti, Keeripatti and Nattarmangalam to have an on-the-spot assessment of the facilities there last week. He spoke nothing about the coming elections and only confined his visit to enquiring the needs of the people. It appears that some development works in the locality may follow his visit.

Instead of rushing strength in the eleventh hour, the district police are preparing the groundwork for the elections. For instance, weeks ahead of the Melavalavu anniversary, the police officials held discussions with both groups to arrive at a consensus.

According to the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Madurai Range), N. Chenbagaraman, steps were taken to restore peace and harmony at Melavalavu where a Dalit panchayat president, Murugesan, and five others were hacked to death in 1997. "We are working with some voluntary organisations to rehabilitate the affected persons. The death anniversary passed off incident-free. Of the 41 persons accused in the case, 17 were convicted and the others acquitted. The locals are reforming their way of life to forget the bitter past and live amicably," he said.

Similarly in the reserved panchayats, the officials are trying to derive a practical solution to sort out the long-pending issue.

Besides peace committee meetings and negotiations, self-employment schemes, crop loans and amenities are in the pipeline.

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