New statue creates tension near Kovilpatti

The clay statue was kept closed by the police following a caste clash in 2002 in the village and ever since the incident, people in the village were trying to get permission to erect a bronze statue at the same spot. 

Various representations made by the people of the village went in vain with the administration refusing permission to erect a new statue. Recently, they submitted a petition again seeking permission. But the officials denied their plea.

Meanwhile, the villagers on their own pooled Rs 7 lakh and constructed a new Thevar statue in bronze and erected the same in the spot without getting the permission from the authorities. When police received information about it, they rushed to the spot and asked the villagers to remove the statue kept without official permission. 

As the talks failed to yield any results, the Kovilpatti RDO came and conducted consultations with the villagers. The villagers told the RDO that they took the step to erect the statue on their own as their repeated representations for permission were not heeded by the officials. As the talks remain inconclusive, police pickets were posted in the village as the officials apprehend trouble on the erection of the statue.