Bargarh: After being denied a dignified cremation by family members and relatives, members of a social organisation came forward to cremate the body of an elderly woman 15 hours after her death at Jhumpudipada area in Bargarh town Saturday.
According to a source, Mali Mirdhha (60) lived with her husband Mukunda and daughter Sanju while her son lived somewhere else. For the last couple of years, she had been suffering from ailments associated with old age.
Mali breathed her last Friday evening. The message was sent to her son but he refused to come. His sister Sanju said her brother told them that he could not come due to Nuakhai. As if that was not humiliating enough, relatives and neighbours too did not turn up to carry the body to the village cremation ground. Meanwhile, 15 hours passed by and the body continued to lie in the backyard all the while.
Local people contacted ‘Sankalp Parivar’, a social organisation and sought their intervention in this regard.
Putting aside the preparations for Nuakhai, the members of the organisation including Vikash Agrawal, G Ramesh, Nidhan Danta, Santosh Danta and Santish Sahu reached the village and carried the bier to ‘Swargadwar’, located on the bank of Jeera river. There they performed the last rites, following all the traditions.
PNN
