Thoothukudi village sets model by shedding casteism

MADURAI: Thalaivanvadali, a village in Authoor town panchayat near Tiruchendur in Thoothukudi district, has set a model for communal harmony after caste groups came forward and removed caste flag masts.

Thoothukudi Collector K Senthil Raj on Monday honored representatives of a caste group with shawls and presented them a memorandum. Last year, the village had witnessed a murder due to caste rivalry and to wreak revenge, another person was murdered on the same day last month this year.

To ease tension and ensure peace, a team led by Superintendent of Police L Balaji Saravanan visited the village and reached out to the local community under a mission titled ‘Maatrathai Thedi’ with a message to give up casteism.

Over a period of time, from April 22 to July 17 this year, as many as 1,855 meetings were held with the community in various villages across the district and the police created awareness among 57,018 persons so far.

Citing these, the Collector appealed to other villages in the district to follow suit soon and sought the people to live in unity.