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LUCKNOW: Two villagers on hunger strike for over five days died in Etah and Bulandshahr, respectively, on Sunday, exposing shocking levels of administrative insensitivity.
Though in both the cases the protests were in the knowledge of the district administration since day one, none bothered to address the protesters till the two died within a span of 12 hours.
In Etah, about a dozen members of Baheliya community were sitting on a hunger strike since October 25 demanding caste certificates. Sometime back the Etah district administration had stopped issuing scheduled tribe (ST) certificates to the members of Aheriya clan of the Baheliya tribe. The administration's plea for not issuing the certificates, claimed protesters, was that Aheriya clan was not a part of Baheliya tribe.
In most of the districts, including Etah, Aheriyas were given ST certificates until recently. In order to press their demand, around a dozen members of the Aheriya tribe began an indefinite hunger strike from November 1. Late on Sunday night, one of the protesters Budhpal (50), fell unconscious and died at the hospital, confirmed additional district magistrate (ADM), Etah, Devendra Dixit on Monday. Condition of two other protesters was stated to be critical. District magistrate (DM), Etah, Shashi Bhushan Lal Susheel, who had earlier turned a blind eye to the protest, announced on Monday afternoon that ST certificates will now be issued to Aheriya clan members. When contacted for details of the case, the person who took the call on the DM's CUG number said that he had gone off to sleep.
If sources are to be believed, the district authorities were busy preparing documents to establish that efforts were made to convince the Aheriyas to withdraw their protest.
Though in both the cases the protests were in the knowledge of the district administration since day one, none bothered to address the protesters till the two died within a span of 12 hours.
In Etah, about a dozen members of Baheliya community were sitting on a hunger strike since October 25 demanding caste certificates. Sometime back the Etah district administration had stopped issuing scheduled tribe (ST) certificates to the members of Aheriya clan of the Baheliya tribe. The administration's plea for not issuing the certificates, claimed protesters, was that Aheriya clan was not a part of Baheliya tribe.
In most of the districts, including Etah, Aheriyas were given ST certificates until recently. In order to press their demand, around a dozen members of the Aheriya tribe began an indefinite hunger strike from November 1. Late on Sunday night, one of the protesters Budhpal (50), fell unconscious and died at the hospital, confirmed additional district magistrate (ADM), Etah, Devendra Dixit on Monday. Condition of two other protesters was stated to be critical. District magistrate (DM), Etah, Shashi Bhushan Lal Susheel, who had earlier turned a blind eye to the protest, announced on Monday afternoon that ST certificates will now be issued to Aheriya clan members. When contacted for details of the case, the person who took the call on the DM's CUG number said that he had gone off to sleep.
If sources are to be believed, the district authorities were busy preparing documents to establish that efforts were made to convince the Aheriyas to withdraw their protest.
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