Cases of untouchability on the rise, says Karnataka DSS

BELGAUM: Members of the Dalit Sangarsha Samithi (DSS) district unit staged a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office here on Thursday demanding an inquiry into reports that untouchability was being practised in different parts of the district, and the increasing cases of atrocities on Dalits in the State.

The protesters from different parts of the district took out a procession through the main roads of the city and shouted slogans against untouchability and in favour of social justice. The samithi's State convener Raju M. Talwar and district convener Gajanan Gunjeri led the protesters.

They submitted a memorandum to the Government in which they said the atrocities on Dalits had increased. Inequality was also aggravating with each passing day and Dalits, minorities and the backward classes continued to be exploited, they added. Incidents of desecration of the statues of B.R. Ambedkar occurred frequently in different parts of the State, they said.

Though Dalit colonies lacked civic amenities, they were replete with liquor shops, the protesters said.

The samithi submitted a list of eight demands to the Government, including the arrest of all those behind the violence against Dalits at Yanagunti and Soudappanahalli in Bangalore Rural district, adequate compensation to the affected families, arrest of those who desecrated the statue of Dr. Ambedkar at Bilagi in Bagalkot district and closure of all liquor shops in Dalit colonies.