Balmiki community to boycott work over demolition drive

Continuing with their protest against the proposed demolition of their colony, members of the Balmiki community here today announced that they will boycott cleaning and sanitation work from tomorrow.
Seven members of the community sat on a hunger-strike a week ago after the municipal board declared a locality of Balmikies as unauthorised and decided to raze to ground the "illegal possessions".
Earlier this week Collector C K Tripathi deputed a team of doctors to examine the persons sitting on hunger-strike twice a day.
The protesting members of the community today told the collector that would rather continue with their hunger strike instead of seeing their houses get demolished.

There have been reports that several members of the Balmiki community have expressed desire to embrace Islam to avoid the demolition drive.
Rampur is a Muslim-dominated area.

However, an aide of local MLA Azam Khan today said the demolition drive would continue "irrespective of any caste or religion."
Meanwhile, BJP workers in Kanpur today burnt an effigy of of Khan alleging that a conspiracy was being hatched to convert Hindu Balmiki families to Muslim in his constituency of Rampur.
Around 100 workers of BJP Yuva Morcha staged a protest and raised slogans against the cabinet minister at Vijay Nagar Chauraha of the city.

However, the police deployed at the venue did not allow them to burn effigy and a scuffle broke out between them.
Party workers who later burnt the effigy at a spot away from the protest venue alleged that some of the party members were injured after they were lathicharged by the police.
However, police spokesperson denied the charge.