Chandigarh: No Haridwar trips, final goodbyes get delayed

Rajinder Nagarkoti | TNN | Updated: Apr 14, 2020, 13:42 IST

Ashes of the dead are hung from a tree in Sector 25, Chandigarh.

CHANDIGARH: One of the tragic outcomes of the lockdown is how families are struggling to perform death rituals in bidding final goodbye to their loved ones.
At the cremation grounds of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, ashes of the dead are piling up. The reason is that people cannot make the trip to Haridwar for 'asthi visarjan' and 'pind daan' - important Hindu rituals - owing to the ban on inter-state travel.

#CoronaVirusLockdown | Ashes of the dead are piling up at the cremation ground in Sector 25, #Chandigarh . Here, th… https://t.co/v0Piou1NRf
— TOIChandigarh (@TOIChandigarh) 1586851727000

Dheeraj Chandan has been waiting for weeks to immerse the ashes of his younger brother who died in a road accident on March 22.
"We were expecting the curfew would be lifted after April 14. But as it has been extended, we will apply for an e-pass to perform the rituals in Haridwar," said the resident of Sector 49. The ashes of his brother's body are lying at the Sector 25 cremation ground since March 23.

Ashes of the dead are piling up at the cremation ground in Sector 25, Chandigarh.
Dinesh Kumar has a similar story to share. He lost his cousin, a resident of Sector 39, before the announcement of the nationwide lockdown. They had planned to visit Haridwar in the last week of March. "When we contacted our priest, he told us that police are not allowing them to perform immersion at Haridwar ghats. We will now wait till the lockdown is lifted. We have kept the ashes at our house only," Kumar said.
Getting heads tonsured - another ritual - is also becoming hard to perform.
Manjit Ram, a resident of Mauli Jagran, said his uncle had died recently, but they could not find a barber to tonsure the head of their elder son. Finally, an elderly family member helped in removing the hair of his uncle's son. The family has kept the ashes in the cremation ground, he said.
A staff posted at Sector 25 cremation ground said they permit only 20 persons to accompany the body, that too wearing masks and maintaining social distance.
Vijay Kumar, 59, a priest at the Sector 25 cremation ground, said around 180 lockers are full of ashes. As there is no space left in lockers, people have now started tying ashes in bags with tree branches. Some families are even taking away the ashes to their homes, he added.
The union ministry of home affairs in its recent communication to states and union territories had stated that in case of funerals, congregation of not more than twenty persons will be permitted. Initially, up to 20 people were coming, but these days only four to five people come with a body and all maintain proper social distancing during the cremation, Vijay said. Similar kind of situation is at the cremation grounds in Manimajra and Mohali.