BARIPADA: Unable to perform the last rites of an elderly man due to local opposition, residents of Rasgovindpur village in Mayurbhanj district blocked the Jaleswar-Baripada road by placing the body at Sharmula in protest on Friday.
Sources said Konda Naik (65) of Rasgovindpur village died on Thursday night. The next morning, villagers brought his body to the cremation ground at Sharmula village. However, residents of Sharmula raised objections and did not allow the cremation of Konda’s body.
Zilla Parishad member of Sharmula zone-49 Shymasundar Dakua said the administration has recently constructed a crematorium at Rasgovindpur. Instead of using it, villagers of Rasgovindpur are cremating bodies at Sharmula.
“Villagers of Rasgovindpur are cremating bodies along the road, causing inconvenience to school children and women of our area. We requested them to use their crematorium but they did not pay any heed. So we stopped them from using our cremation ground,” Dakua added.
Following opposition from Sharmula residents, villagers of Rasgovindpur placed Konda’s body on Jaleswar-Baripada road in protest at around 8.30 am. Due to the blockade, vehicular traffic between Jaleswar and Baripada was disrupted for more than three hours.
On being informed, Rasgovindpur IIC Sukanti Kelei and tehsildar Ananda Chandra Sethy rushed to the spot. The IIC said the road blockade was lifted after residents of Sharmula agreed to allow Rasgovindpur villagers to use their cremation ground for the one last time.