Villagers in DMK Min Senthil Balaji’s district suffer without proper burial facilities

In the Melaveliyoor village, Karur district, there is no proper roadways or graveyard/cemetery facilities because of which the residents of this village are forced to take the bodies of their relatives through a path where water levels are knee-deep.

Melaveliyoor is a village in the Kalladai panchayat of Tokamalai in the Karur district. Towards the East of the village, there are more than 60 housing structures that are without appropriate facilities. It is being said that although the villagers have been requesting the government for proper burial facilities, the government has taken no action till date.

Bodies are being cremated by the residents near the cemetery lake In this situation, the recent rains have flooded the fields and many lands near the cemetery in the Panchayat. As the water did not recede, the public were forced to carry the bodies of their relatives along water clogged pathways.

Senthil Kumar, a resident of the village who works as a lawyer said, “Villagers cremate bodies near the Kalladai lake . The overflow from this lake enters the Aathuvari canal when there are heavy rains. It has been raining heavily in this region for many years. But, there is no flyover to carry bodies over.”

“A private landowner is refusing to allow the bodies of the dead to be  taken for cremation through his farmland. Since people from two different communities live in this village, both communities don’t have proper facilities to bury their dead. The government should take necessary steps to build a common crematorium for the 2 communities here and provide all the basic amenities required for the people,” he added.

(With inputs from Kathir News)

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