Coimbatore Corporation officials on Tuesday morning demolished a wall across a road in the Jaya Nagar Layout in Saravanampatty.
A section of residents in Periyar Nagar, which is on the western side of the wall, alleged it to be ‘untouchability wall’.
According to sources, following requests from the Saravanampatty Police, the Corporation officials moved in with 10 men and machinery to remove a portion of the wall that was across a 30-foot-road in the layout.
The road connected the layout, on the east, with Periyar Nagar.
The sources said they went ahead with the operation despite protests from Jaya Nagar Layout residents as the police had provided security for the operation.
Sources familiar with the issue and the area Councillor S.R. Arjunan said that based on Periyar Nagar residents’ request, the Jaya Nagar Layout residents agreed to have a portion of the wall removed to facilitate the movement of heavy vehicles to transport construction materials for a temple consecration.
This was about a year-and-half ago. At the time of placing the request, the Periyar Nagar residents had agreed to reconstruct the damaged portion of the wall after the consecration. But that did not happen despite several reminders, the Councillor said.
Finally, the Jaya Nagar Layout residents constructed a wall with a gate, but the Periyar Nagar residents objected to it saying it was a wall of discrimination and that they wanted it demolished.
The sources said that the Jaya Nagar Layout residents were forced to reconstruct the portion of the wall because persons consuming liquor and discarding bottles near houses there was on the rise. The Corporation officials, however, said that they demolished the stretch of the wall across the road because the civic body was the rightful custodian of the road and that the wall denied access to the other side.
