Gujarat’s tribal village awaits basic necessities: Villagers carry body 2 km on washed roads for final rites
A poignant incident in a remote village of Gujarat has highlighted the dire conditions of tribal villages in Gujarat. When a villager named Vishnubhai Gopalbhai Radiya died on Thursday, the bereaved family and fellow villagers were forced to walk nearly 2 kilometres through heavy rain. With no proper crematorium or accessible road in the village, they had to carry tyres and firewood to perform the final rites. Panchvera, the remote tribal village in Kaprada taluka in Valsad, has no permanent cremation facility or paved road. The only open cremation ground is two kilometres away from the village. Due to harsh weather conditions, the villagers had to arrange for tyres first. Carrying umbrellas in one hand and balancing tyres and firewood on their shoulders, they trudged through muddy paths to reach the make-shift cremation ground. The area had become waterlogged and slippery due to continuous rain.Upon reaching the site, they dug a pit in the open ground, placed the tyres inside, and stacked the firewood on top before placing the body. As heavy rain continued, they had to cover the pyre with tarpaulin sheets from all sides. Due to the soaked firewood, it was extremely difficult to perform the cremation, and they struggled to ignite and complete the final rites. A large metal sheet was also carried along to cover the wood and prevent it from getting wet before the cremation began.This is not the first such incident in the village. In the past too, during monsoon, villagers have had to carry out funeral processions through waist-deep water in the river that flows through the village. Despite repeated appeals to authorities to build a proper cremation facility, the claims of development reaching the remotest corners remain hollow. The tribal residents continue to wait, with desperate hope, for even basic infrastructure from a government that prides itself on being pro-development.
A poignant incident in a remote village of Gujarat has highlighted the dire conditions of tribal villages in Gujarat. When a villager named Vishnubhai Gopalbhai Radiya died on Thursday, the bereaved family and fellow villagers were forced to walk nearly 2 kilometres through heavy rain. With no proper crematorium or accessible road in the village, they had to carry tyres and firewood to perform the final rites.
Panchvera, the remote tribal village in Kaprada taluka in Valsad, has no permanent cremation facility or paved road.
The only open cremation ground is two kilometres away from the village. Due to harsh weather conditions, the villagers had to arrange for tyres first. Carrying umbrellas in one hand and balancing tyres and firewood on their shoulders, they trudged through muddy paths to reach the make-shift cremation ground. The area had become waterlogged and slippery due to continuous rain.
Upon reaching the site, they dug a pit in the open ground, placed the tyres inside, and stacked the firewood on top before placing the body. As heavy rain continued, they had to cover the pyre with tarpaulin sheets from all sides. Due to the soaked firewood, it was extremely difficult to perform the cremation, and they struggled to ignite and complete the final rites. A large metal sheet was also carried along to cover the wood and prevent it from getting wet before the cremation began.
This is not the first such incident in the village. In the past too, during monsoon, villagers have had to carry out funeral processions through waist-deep water in the river that flows through the village. Despite repeated appeals to authorities to build a proper cremation facility, the claims of development reaching the remotest corners remain hollow. The tribal residents continue to wait, with desperate hope, for even basic infrastructure from a government that prides itself on being pro-development.
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