Special Correspondent
Bhopal: At least half dozen dalit families have been forced to leave their village in Narsinghpur district, apparently due to harassment and discrimination by persons of locally dominant castes.
Few families that have been left behind in Kapuri village, just 5 km from Narsinghpur district headquarters, are facing tough times due to excesses by the member of the dominant community, sources have said.
The Dalit villagers are not allowed to use community facilities and their children are not allowed to go to school or colleges, the villagers have alleged.
Dharmalal Choudhary, head of one of the families still staying in Kapuri, said while talking to section of media that they have to face harassment on different counts. Arti Choudhary, a teenager, said she had to stop going to school due to the harassment.
Already half dozen families have left the village. They have lodged complaint with the local police, but apparently no action has been initiated.
Narsinghpur has been in limelight time and again for caste discriminatory incidents. In 2012, dalit villagers of Maregaon in Gadarwara tehsil of the district had held protests for several months after facing discrimination because they refuse to pick up and skin dead cattle.
The children of these families were discriminated in school, particularly during mid-day meal serving, they were not allowed in the temple and their access to common facilities in village was barred.
A study by group of NGOs had found rampant caste-based discrimination prevalent in schools of different districts of MP in 2014.
According to National Crime Records Bureau figures, violence against Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe people of Madhya Pradesh is among highest in the country.
