DINDIGUL: More than 12 villagers along with relatives crossed a full flowing river by foot to bury an elderly man at a burial ground in Natham in Dindigul on Friday evening. The district administration had proposed a metal bridge to be constructed across the river at a cost of Rs 10 lakh, but the project is pending.
Over 1,500 families are living in Samudrapatti village near Natham. Periyam Pillai (73) a resident of the village, passed away due to health ailments. For the last two days, heavy inflow of water was reported due to heavy rain. The villagers used the burial ground located on the banks of the Thirumanimuthar River, which is on the opposite side. While Muslim and Christian communities have separate burial grounds, Hindus were forced to cross the river for burial.
Some of the villagers decided to wait for the water to recede before carrying the mortal remains of Periyam Pillai across the river for burial. However, many were worried as there was no other burial place. Since the body could decompose, they decided to cross the river, despite the danger.
Around eight family members along with villagers stepped into the river. The water level was chest high but they kept walking through the river bed. The elderly man was buried by evening.
Speaking to TNIE, a top official from the district administration said, "It is a long pending issue concerning the villagers. The river comes under the control of the PWD. The block development officers had accepted the proposal for constructing a metal bridge at the cost of Rs 10 lakh. However, the river takes a perpendicular bend at a spot, and villagers enter the water here. Hence, constructing a bridge is difficult. We are awaiting higher officials to take a decision on either constructing a bridge a few metres ahead of the stream or choosing another area for burial."