Forced to wade through river, Nagai Dalits seek a honourable funeral

There are around 500 Dalit families residing in the Gandhi Mahan street, Sivankoil street, Uzhavan street, Tsunami settlement and Sangilipuram, all located in the colony. 

For decades, they have been demanding a bridge connecting their area with the other side of a river, where their cremation ground is situated. However, with their pleas going unheard, the residents of the above-mentioned streets are forced to take the funeral procession of their loved ones by wading through the neck-deep river. 

Denied space for cremation at a ground near the colony by Caste Hindus, the Dalit residents were provided a separate cremation ground on the other side of the Paravaiyaru river after a long dispute over three decades ago.

However, with no proper accessible route in place to reach the cremation ground, the Dalit residents have no option but to cross the river. The residents say the promise of constructing the bridge comes up during every election but is never fulfilled. 

In such a backdrop, the residents had no option but to yet again cross the river when octogenarian, Gandhimathi of Gandhi Mahan street passed away on Tuesday evening.

“We face a similar situation whenever one from our community dies. Since we were not allowed to use the nearby funeral ground by Caste Hindus, we fought hard for a separate cremation ground. But, accessibility to the ground is denied,” said Mappillaisamy, a resident.

He said all government officials and elected representatives have been approached seeking a solution for this problem. “Yet, our wish to give an honourable funeral to the departed person remains a long-pending demand,” said Mappillaisamy. 

Ramachandran, a resident of Uzhavan street said, “We have fought for a solution for several decades but there is no response from the government. We will definitely stage a protest with a body on the next occasion.” Meanwhile, U Mathivanan, MLA of Kizhvelur Constituency under which the colony falls, said he would take up the issue with the state government and make all possible attempts to find a solution to this problem.