The long wait for a haircut by the Dalits of Koliwad village in Hubli taluk ended on Wednesday evening with salons, which had remained closed for a month because of caste conflict, getting reopened.
Dyamanna Koliwad’s salon was opened in the presence of Hubli tahsildar H.D. Nagavi, Navalgund MLA N.H. Konaraddi, elders of the village, Dalit leaders, and members of the Savita Samaj.
Sources said that during the visit of government officials to Koliwad, the village elders assured them of sorting out the problem within two days and subsequently they decided to “convince” Savita Samaj members to give haircut to Dalits in the village.
Earlier, Mr. Nagavi addressed the village residents and thanked the elders for sorting out the problem amicably without giving room for any disturbance.
Concurring with him, Mr. Konaraddi thanked the village residents for sorting out the problem amicably. He said the village elders had assured him that from Thursday, salons would function according to the stipulated timings and offer service to members of all the communities.
While salons in Koliwad were offering service to the upper caste and other backward classes, Dalits were forced to travel a minimum of 10 km for a haircut. When a few Dalit youths demanded haircut in the village, all salons in Koliwad were shut down a month ago.
(The Hindu)
