SANGAREDDY: No relation, no prior acquaintance, but for nearly a decade, a group of youngsters from Patancheru have ensured that those abandoned in death are not denied dignity in their final journey. Since 2016, the MDR (M Devender Raj) Foundation has performed the last rites of more than 700 unclaimed bodies. Religion is no barrier for the members, and the foundation performs final rites in accordance with the deceased’s faith, whenever possible, with the idea that everyone receives a respectful farewell.
Led by foundation president D Madhu, the initiative began with a single unclaimed body found at a bus station in 2016. Madhu recalls that the body remained in a hospital mortuary for two days after no one came forward to claim it. On the third day, police contacted the foundation, which took responsibility for the funeral. “That one incident changed everything,” Madhu tells TNIE.
Since then, police and members of the public have routinely informed the foundation whenever an unclaimed body is found in and around Patancheru, a region that attracts migrant workers from several states.
Once police confirm that there are no pending legal issues, foundation members take custody of the body and arrange the funeral. Most unidentified bodies are cremated, but if the religion of the deceased is known, the last rites are performed according to the relevant customs. On one occasion, the foundation even conducted funeral rites for a Muslim deceased in keeping with religious traditions.
Madhu says a dignified funeral costs at least `10,000, with the expenses borne by the foundation, particularly by Pruthviraj, son of Devender Raj, who plays a key role in the initiative.
The foundation does not stop at cremation. Members also collect the ashes and immerse them in the Musi and Manjeera rivers, ensuring the final rituals are completed.
Madhu says his wife has supported the work from the beginning. Over the years, the foundation has also helped families who were unable to transport the bodies of deceased relatives to their native places due to financial constraints.
For hundreds who left this world alone, the MDR Foundation became the family that stood beside them in their final moments.
