'Water Had Turned Yellow': Human Feces Found Dumped In Water Tank Allotted To Dalits In TN Village

A horrific act of caste discrimination has come to light from a Tamil Nadu village, where human feces were discovered dumped in a water tank assigned for the Scheduled Caste community.

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A probe by district authorities also revealed that the bigotry against the affected group was not limited to this act.

Upon reaching the village, the officials found the presence of deep-rooted untouchability as the local tea shop practised a two-glass system. It also came to their knowledge that Dalits in the area were forbidden to enter the community temple.

Tank assigned to 100 Dalits

Pudukottai collector Kavitha Ramu and district police chief Vandita Pandey paid a visit to Irayur village in central Tamil Nadu on Tuesday after receiving reports that a large amount of human waste had been discovered in a 10,000-litre water tank that was supplying drinking water to the Dalit community of around 100 people.

Villagers reported that many of their children had become ill in recent days. After doctors suggested that the drinking water source could be the reason behind the problem, a group of young men climbed the tank and inspected it.

'Water had turned yellow'

Moksha Gunavalagan, a political activist in the area, said that the water had turned yellow due to massive feces dumped inside the water tank. He further said that people kept consuming the water as they were unaware of the development.

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"A huge quantity of feces was found dumped inside the water tank. So much so the water had turned yellow. Without knowing that, for a week or so, the people were drinking this water. When children fell ill -- that's when the truth came out,'' Moksha told NDTV.

It is not yet clear who is responsible. The fence around the water tank had been opened in the last few days.

"When the young men climbed the tank, they found the lid open... No one has reported seeing anyone climb and dump the waste into the water tank,'' collector Kavitha Ramu said.

Deep-rooted untouchability in village

In a chat with the media outlet, the locals revealed that discrimination has prevailed for a long time in the village, as individuals from Schedule Castes have not been allowed inside the village temple for three generations.

Not only did the Collector and the chief of the district police get a case filed against the tea vendor, but they also booked an "upper caste" woman concerning the temple issue.

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The officials took the villagers to the shrine to identify the persons who prohibited them from entering the temple. At the temple, the said woman, apparently in a trance, stopped them from entering the premises. The woman claimed that the deity possessed her. The police have filed a case against her as well.

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