“The service is rendered through the residents’ association. The members have been offering this service for several decades, even before I was appointed the association secretary. We decided to help as the citizens are often clueless whom to approach and what to do when they are faced with a tough situation,” he said. The selfless act of Ramdas and his associates grew popular by word of mouth. 

“In some cases, the bereaved family informs us. We help them out till the end,” he added. His social work was recognised by the police department after Ramdas helped get a decent burial for two traffic constables who lost their lives in a road accident on GST Road. 

“This happened some 10 years ago. The officers were lying in a pool of blood with no one to attend to after a lorry hit their motorcycle from the rear. We secured their bodies from the spot and took them to the hospital. Also, we informed their relatives,” he said. 

The organisation helps bereaved families conduct rituals at a nominal rate. “The workers at crematoriums usually fleece the families and fix up the price based on their economic situation. Their usual rate for the public is Rs 25,000. But, we had struck a deal and render the service at  Rs 3,500. After the setting up of more electric crematoriums, the tariff has been further reduced to Rs 2,300,” he said.