Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh): The cremation of a man by his 5-year-old daughter in the woods amid heavy rain at a village in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara has highlighted the lack of crematorium for the deceased due to alleged official apathy.
Emotional scenes were witnessed on Tuesday Aug 20 at Gram Panchayat Jamkunda where the little girl lit the pyre of her father under tarpaulin amid heavy rains in a forest area. The rain was so heavy that it was difficult to even light the pyre. The villagers put a tarpaulin over the pyre, only then the girl was able to perform her father's last rites.
The last rites could not be performed at the village itself because the authorities have not reserved land for a crematorium for the deceased which forces the locals to perform the last rites in the jungle or beg in front of some land owner.
Village Sarpanch Sarla Prakash Kumre told ETV Bharat that in Gram Panchayat Jamkunda, there are two villages, Bhadri and Jamkunda. While there is a crematorium at Bhadri but there is no revenue government land in Jamkunda village where Mokshadham can be built. Due to lack of space, the last rites have to be done in the forest as per the Sarpanch.
The Sarpanch said that there is forest department land in the village where the last rites are done but due to it being forest land, permission cannot be given to build Mokshadham there.
Villagers said that in times of death, they are afraid to bring the bodies of their dear ones to the villages due to lack of the crematorium.
Therefore, many people even leave their dead bodies in the city and are not even able to perform the last rites of their family members in their village, said the villagers.
