It is a common tendency to presume, often because of their projection in cinema and other mass media, that the persons working in crematoriums lose their ability to empathise due to the countless dead bodies they handle and the sorrow they witness.
However, 11 workers at ‘Anjali,’ the modern gasifier crematorium run by Madurai Corporation and Rotary Madurai Midtown Trust here, have proved it wrong.
In a moving gesture, the employees, who do not earn a handsome income, have contributed their one day’s salary for carrying out relief work in Cyclone Gaja affected regions. “We are also human beings. We watch television and hear from other people the sufferings of the farmers and the poor people affected in the cyclone. We felt really bad and wanted to make our contribution although it is only a meagre amount,” said P. Vellaichamy, one of the machine operators.
V. Murugan, the manager at the crematorium, said that the workers were willing to even share their one week’s salary. “But people at the Rotary Club of Madurai Midtown felt that it will be a significant burden on them,” he said. A total of ₹4,600 collected by the 11 workers was handed over to the office bearers of Rotary Madurai Midtown Trust on Friday.
K. Mathan, past president of Rotary Club of Madurai Midtown, said that the money will be added to the fund being mobilised by the club.