Karnataka govt facilitates salon for Dalits after barbers deny them haircut service
Gadag (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka government has facilitated the opening of a salon at Shingatalur village in Gadag district after Dalits were allegedly denied hair-cutting services by upper-caste residents, sources in the Social Welfare Department said on Thursday.
According to department sources, Dalits in the village had been facing denial of tonsure services for several years during a particular time of the year, forcing them to travel to neighbouring villages for haircuts.
Following representations from Dalit residents, the authorities intervened to address the issue.
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The barber shop has been set up jointly by the Social Welfare Department, the Taluk administration, the Taluk panchayat, a body of Dalit organisations and the Shivasharana Hadapada Appanna community.
Basavaraj Hadapada from neighbouring Tippapur village has been allotted the shop to provide barber services in Shingatalur, the sources said.
“The initiative has been taken under the untouchability eradication awareness and harmonious living programme to promote social harmony and ensure equal access to basic services,” sources in the department said.
A belief reportedly prevailed in the village that Veerabhadreshwara Swamy visits the houses of the Hadapada community members during Mahanavami every year, and that cutting the hair of Dalits at that time would bring misfortune.
“Citing this superstition, some individuals stopped offering services to Dalits,” sources said.
Following petitions submitted by the affected residents, officials stepped in and ensured that a permanent solution was put in place.
The barber shop was formally opened in the presence of officials and villagers, sources in the Social Welfare Department said.
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‘Hidden camera’ found in bathroom of TISS-Guwahati girls’ hostel, probe underway
Guwahati (PTI): The police have initiated an inquiry after a “hidden camera” was found in a bathroom of the girls’ hostel on the Guwahati campus of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), an officer said on Friday.
The TISS authorities had intimated the police and filed a complaint in connection with the incident, he said.
“Based on the complaint, an investigation has been initiated,” the police officer said.
The TISS Guwahati, in a statement, had said that the recent incident was a “serious privacy violation, and is entirely unacceptable and condemnable”.
It said internal security protocols were being reviewed to ensure non-recurrence of any such incident in the future.
Support services are in place for the affected students, and the TISS is fully cooperating with the police in the case, the statement said.
