MP: Villagers carry bodies for last rites in waist-deep water

Residents of a village in Madhya Pradesh are forced to wade through waist-deep water while carrying bodies for last rites to a cremation ground located at the end of a road inundated after rains.

The Congress termed the situation as "shameful", and said it is the local panchayat's responsibility to improve the situation.

The plight of the residents of Pipliya Hada village, located just eight km from the Neemuch district headquarters, came to light when local farmer Mohanlal Nagda approached the media on Monday to put forth the woes.

He told the media how members of a Scheduled Caste (SC) had to wade through the flooded road to carry the body of one Bhagwan Lal Bheel (70) to the cremation ground.

"We are forced to carry bodies while wading through waist-deep water by risking our own lives, as the way to reach the cremation ground is flooded after rains," Nagda told PTI.

"The villagers face this problem, specially during the rainy season every year, and despite our demand for construction of a bridge or a stop dam, nothing has happened so far," he alleged.

Besides, the Scheduled Caste (SC) community members in some places in the district were also facing shortage of wood for performing the last rites, he said.

District Congress unit's working president Rajkumar Ahir said, "This is a shameful incident."