JAJPUR: The body of a 61-year-old man in Bari area of Jajpur district remained on the rooftop of his house for nearly 18 hours as rising floodwater prevented his family from bringing it downstairs for the last rites.
The incident was reported from Chintasahi under Bari block, where several families have remained surrounded by floodwater for the past six days following flooding in the Brahmani and Kharasrota rivers. The deceased was identified as Hrushikesh Mallik. How he died was not clear.
Mallik stayed with his family on the rooftop after floodwater submerged the ground floor was under nearly four feet of water. He died at around 4.30 pm on Wednesday.
With the lower part of the house submerged and roads in the village under chest-deep water, the family was unable to bring his body downstairs. The body remained on the rooftop until around 10.30 am on Thursday, sources said.
The family alleged that they informed the local administration and sought assistance to take the body out for the last rites, but received no help. Later, a social worker arranged a hearse vehicle to take the body for cremation.
Villagers then carried the body through chest-deep water for nearly one kilometre as the motorable road leading to the deceased’s house remained completely submerged. The funeral procession passed through the flooded stretch before the body was taken to Jajpur town for cremation.
Bari BDO Minati Jagdev, however, refuted the allegation that administration had been informed. “No one informed me about the incident. I came to know about it from a scribe on Friday afternoon. The nodal officer of Bari panchayat has been asked to provide financial assistance under the Harishchandra Yojana and other facilities to the deceased’s family for the last rites,” she said.
The incident triggered anger among residents, who alleged that hundreds of families in Chintasahi have been forced to stay on rooftops for the past six days without adequate access to cooked food.
