MP ban: Officials advise Gollarahatti villagers to change

Tumakuru: Senior officials of Tumakuru on Wednesday held a meeting with the people of Pemmanahalli Gollarahatti, who had on Monday stopped BJP MP, A. Narayanaswamy from entering their village only because he was a Madiga by caste, and advised them to become more progressive in their ways.

District deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar, SP Vamshi Krishna and chief executive officer of the zilla panchayat Subha Kalyan urged the villagers, who are Gollas (Yadavas) by caste and have banned the entry of Madigas into their village in a practice dating back centuries, to instead to focus on improving their quality of life by getting access to clean drinking water and healthcare facilities.

Ms Kalyan said she felt personally hurt by the villagers stopping an MP from entering Pemmanahalli Gollarahatti on the basis of his caste and appealed to them never to repeat this in future.

Pavagada Gollara Sangha president, Narasimhappa, submitted a memorandum to Mr Rakesh Kumar, appealing to him to make Pemmannahalli Gollarahatti a revenue village so that it could get adequate funds for basic amenities. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle later, he said he had asked Kumar to provide clean drinking water to the village as the fluoride content in the water consumed by the villagers was harming their health.

Mr Narasimhappa admitted that lack of education in the Golla community was a huge hurdle as many students dropped out of school or college to rear livestock. “Even if one member from each family is educated, the quality of life will see a drastic change and they will become more progressive in their thinking,” he said.