Crematorium hikes charges, tribals cremate body on road

Surat: Not being able to afford the hiked charges of using the crematorium, kin of 45-year-old tribal labourer decide to perform his final rites on the roadside in Ena, an NRI village in Surat district, on Tuesday.
The shocking incident happened after the administrators demanded Rs 2,500 as charges for using the crematorium. The community members didn’t have any option but to cremate poor farm labourer Mohan Rathod, who died from prolonged illnesses, on the road itself. “Mohan’s family is very poor and they cannot afford to pay the money in current post-lockdown crisis,” said Arjun Rathod, a neighbour.
Mohan is survived by his 60-year-old mother Manu, his two sons Jayesh, 17 and Dev, 12. Rathod died at around 2 am on Tuesday. After taking the body to the crematorium at around 7 am when the neighbours went to get the keys of the crematorium, the administrator informed them that the fee has been hiked to Rs 2,500.
“The family and friends then informed their Halpati community members and with wood contributed by each household, the body was cremated on the roadside in the afternoon after the villagers could not find a solution,” said Bharat Rathod, a businessman.
In a population of around 3,500 in Ena, at least one member from each family stays abroad. While the village boasts of modern amenities like common water purification plant, concrete roads, cricket stadium and nationally acclaimed Navratri celebrations, it has all been developed with NRI donations.
“The cremation charges were Rs 1,200 till a few days ago which has now more than doubled without informing all the communities in the village,” Bharat alleged.
Atul Patel, a member of Ena Seva Samiti, that manages the crematorium said that the management committee decided to increase charges as it was proving costly to manage the crematorium now as the regular donations from NRIs have stopped coming. “We don’t have any option but to increase the charges,” he said.