Dalit family forced to hold cremation at roadside after crematorium access denied
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): A photo emerging from Vaishali has raised serious questions about the sensitivity of both society and the administration. A Mahadalit family in the Garhaul police station area of the district was unable to reach the cremation ground for the last rites of their elderly woman, forcing them to prepare a funeral pyre at a road intersection.
The dead body was stopped despite it being a public road
The incident took place in Sondho Mubarakpur Manjhi Tola of Garhaul police station area. 91-year-old Jhappki Devi, a resident here, had passed away. When the family moved towards the cremation ground with the dead body, they were allegedly stopped by local shopkeepers on the way. The family members allege that the public road leading to the cremation ground has been encroached for a long time, due to which they were not allowed to take the dead body further. When the way was not found despite arguing and pleading for a long time, the sad and angry family members prepared a pyre at the intersection itself and performed the last rites.
The blazing pyre raised questions on the administration
After the pictures of the burning pyre in the middle of the road surfaced, anger spread in the area. Locals say that this road has been blocked for a long time and complaints were made about it many times, but the administration did not take any concrete steps. Sandesh Majhi, son of the deceased, said, "When we were not given a way to reach the crematorium, we were left with no option. We were forced to perform the last rites on the road itself." Meanwhile, local shopkeeper Shankar Thakur claimed that the police had reached the spot before the funeral, but returned without intervening.
After the matter escalated , Vaishali District Magistrate Varsha Singh took it seriously. The administration formed a high-level investigation committee. The SDO of Mahua, DSP, and BDO of Garhaul will jointly investigate the matter. The administration says that strict action will be taken against the encroachers and the negligent officials. However, so far, officials have been avoiding giving statements on camera.
Local public representative Ruby Devi called the incident extremely unfortunate. She said that a permanent solution to the cremation ground would be found by meeting with all stakeholders, so that no family would face such inhumane conditions in the future.