Karnataka villagers cross flooded stream with body

With the collapse of a bridge that connects the village with its graveyard, residents of Kheni-Gaonkarwad were forced to cross the overflowing stream by foot to cremate the body of a woman who died on
Villagers walk across a stream carrying a body near Ankola of Uttara Kannada district (File | EPS)
Villagers walk across a stream carrying a body near Ankola of Uttara Kannada district (File | EPS)

KARWAR : With the collapse of a bridge that connects the village with its graveyard, residents of Kheni-Gaonkarwad were forced to cross the overflowing stream by foot to cremate the body of a woman who died on Thursday. The body was that of Susheela Gaonkar (80).Kheni-Gaonkarwada village falls under Ankola Town Municipal Council limits. A stream separates the village and its graveyard. Last monsoon, a footbridge across the stream in the village was washed away.   

As the water in the stream was up to the chest, a large number of people, especially women, could not attend last rites of the deceased.Following heavy rain in the coastal district, all rivers and streams have been overflowing for the last one week. Santosh Gaonkar, a local resident, said their village is hardly 4 km away from Ankola town. To connect the graveyard, a big cement-pipe was laid in the stream and a concrete bridge was temporarily built about two years ago.

“The bridge was washed away during the last monsoon season. After that, in case of death of anyone, we take the body crossing the stream. There is not much water in the stream, except during rainy season. But this time it was different. This reflects failure on the administration’s part,” he added.

When contacted, Ankola Town Municipal Council chief officer N M Mesta said: “As no land was identified for the construction of a bridge, we constructed a temporary footbridge a couple of years ago and it got washed away. We will send a proposal to the government to identify the place to construct a bridge and lay a road to the graveyard.”

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