Garbage cart used for last journey of destitute man
Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com 05.04.2018
Vellore: In utter disregard for the dead, panchayat staff of Sholinghur Town in Vellore district on Monday transported the body of a 70-year-old man in a garbage cart. The video of the body wrapped in a white cloth being carried on a garbage cart went viral on social media two days after the incident. The man is said to have died on March 27.
Justifying their action, which attracted strong criticism, officials said they did not have appropriate vehicles to transport unclaimed bodies. “We were forced to use one of our 60 garbage carts to move the the body to the burial ground located half a kilometer from the government hospital in Sholinghur,” officials said.
Locals said the man may have been seeking alms, but it was condemnable to transport his body in a garbage cart.
DISGRACE: We don’t have appropriate vehicles to transport unclaimed bodies, say officers of Sholinghur town panchayat
We were unable to take his body for a decent burial: Niece
Inspector of police of Sholinghur station Kandeeban said the man believed to be native of Sholinghur town was staying along the roadside near the post office for several years. “He earned a living by begging. People in and around the area knew him for a long time. He was found dead along the road on March 27. We shifted the body to the GH,” said the Inspector.
Since no one claimed the body until April 1, police officials submitted a letter to the executive officer of the town panchayat Anbuselvan to carry out the final rites of the man. A 54-year-old woman, Raji, from Tambaram in Chennai approached the police and claimed that the man was her maternal uncle Rajaraman. He was unmarried and left the family several years ago.
She said she was not in a position to take his body to Chennai to give him a decent burial. “We received a letter requesting us to take the body of the elderly person. We assigned two of our sanitary workers. Since we don’t have dedicated vehicles to transport dead bodies, we used one of the garbage carts,” said Anbuselvan. A garbage cart was kept aside to carry unclaimed bodies to the burial ground, he said.
Health Inspector Vadivel shrugged helplessness and said the Sholinghur GH had no hearses. “So, we were left with no choice,” he said and added that Collector S A Raman contacted the officials and warned them against repeating it. He advised them to rope in volunteers or like-minded people to arrange a transportation to shift the bodies to the burial ground.
This is not an isolated case. The town panchayat has been in the practice of transporting unclaimed bodies from the GH in garbage vehicles. “We bury five to 10 unclaimed bodies every year. We carry the dead in the garbage vehicle,” admitted a sanitary worker in the town, seeking anonymity.
Neelakandan, who has been giving decent burial to several unclaimed bodies in Tiruvannamalai Town, dubbed the act of the panchayat “uncivilised” and “undignified” to a departed soul.
Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com 05.04.2018
Vellore: In utter disregard for the dead, panchayat staff of Sholinghur Town in Vellore district on Monday transported the body of a 70-year-old man in a garbage cart. The video of the body wrapped in a white cloth being carried on a garbage cart went viral on social media two days after the incident. The man is said to have died on March 27.
Justifying their action, which attracted strong criticism, officials said they did not have appropriate vehicles to transport unclaimed bodies. “We were forced to use one of our 60 garbage carts to move the the body to the burial ground located half a kilometer from the government hospital in Sholinghur,” officials said.
Locals said the man may have been seeking alms, but it was condemnable to transport his body in a garbage cart.
DISGRACE: We don’t have appropriate vehicles to transport unclaimed bodies, say officers of Sholinghur town panchayat
We were unable to take his body for a decent burial: Niece
Inspector of police of Sholinghur station Kandeeban said the man believed to be native of Sholinghur town was staying along the roadside near the post office for several years. “He earned a living by begging. People in and around the area knew him for a long time. He was found dead along the road on March 27. We shifted the body to the GH,” said the Inspector.
Since no one claimed the body until April 1, police officials submitted a letter to the executive officer of the town panchayat Anbuselvan to carry out the final rites of the man. A 54-year-old woman, Raji, from Tambaram in Chennai approached the police and claimed that the man was her maternal uncle Rajaraman. He was unmarried and left the family several years ago.
She said she was not in a position to take his body to Chennai to give him a decent burial. “We received a letter requesting us to take the body of the elderly person. We assigned two of our sanitary workers. Since we don’t have dedicated vehicles to transport dead bodies, we used one of the garbage carts,” said Anbuselvan. A garbage cart was kept aside to carry unclaimed bodies to the burial ground, he said.
Health Inspector Vadivel shrugged helplessness and said the Sholinghur GH had no hearses. “So, we were left with no choice,” he said and added that Collector S A Raman contacted the officials and warned them against repeating it. He advised them to rope in volunteers or like-minded people to arrange a transportation to shift the bodies to the burial ground.
This is not an isolated case. The town panchayat has been in the practice of transporting unclaimed bodies from the GH in garbage vehicles. “We bury five to 10 unclaimed bodies every year. We carry the dead in the garbage vehicle,” admitted a sanitary worker in the town, seeking anonymity.
Neelakandan, who has been giving decent burial to several unclaimed bodies in Tiruvannamalai Town, dubbed the act of the panchayat “uncivilised” and “undignified” to a departed soul.
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