Dalit leader SP Anand raised an issue during the SC/ST grievance meeting held at the city police commissioner’s office in Mangaluru on Saturday.

Mangaluru: During the SC/ST grievance meeting held at the city police commissioner’s office on Saturday, Dalits expressed concern over the delay in admission to Wenlock District Hospital.Referring to a recent case, Dalit leader SP Anand said that a patient, who was married about a year ago and was diagnosed with stage two cancer, faced difficulty in getting admission in the hospital. Anand said he took up the matter with MLC Evan D’Souza and helped the patient get the BPL card. However, he alleged that the doctors attempted to refer the patient to a private hospital with which they had connections. “The facilities in Wenlock are good, but it has been difficult for poor people to get access,” he said.Responding to the concern, DCP (law and order) Mithun HN said the hospital capacity and related issues would be examined, while DCP (crime and traffic) Ravi Shankar K said the matter would be brought to the notice of the deputy commissioner.Anand also highlighted the need to increase hostel facilities in rural areas, and pointed to confusion over the mention of sub-castes within the Adi Dravidian community during school admissions. The delegates were advised to take up the issue with the Social Welfare Department.Meanwhile, Jagdish Pandeshwar referred to a recent incident near Hoige market, in which a man was allegedly forced, abused and threatened to hand over his mobile phone by unknown persons. He urged authorities to focus on targeting people walking alone at night. In response, the DCP directed Mangaluru South Police to intensify patrolling by using sirens and top lights on patrol vehicles to increase police visibility. Police Inspector was also instructed to ensure installation of CCTV cameras in sensitive areas.Several other issues were raised during the meeting, including permission for excavation activities, drainage issue, family disputes and issues caused by street vendors near Lady Goshen Hospital and Nandigudda.A representative also urged the police to ensure that authorities are informed when houses are rented out to people from outside the district. Concern was also expressed over alleged wheelie riding by minors in the morning in Surathkal-Krishnapura-Katipalla area.The DCP directed all police inspectors to organize police station-level SC/ST grievance meetings regularly and urged Dalit representatives to actively participate in them. DCRE Mangaluru Range SP Simon CA was present.