Chennai: Encroachers deny family cremation rights – Times of India

Chennai News

CHENNAI: A Pallavaram-based family on Sunday lodged a complaint with the Tambaram corporation, stating that it was denied cremation at its traditional corporation-run facility by people who had encroached upon the premises. The family later conducted the cremation at a different facility.
In a complaint to Tambaram Corporation commissioner M Elangovan, the family members said that when they took the body of 64-year-old Kannammal to the corporation-run crematorium on Pallavaram’s Vathiyar Manickam Street, the encroachers blocked their entry and created a ruckus, citing the rituals would cause pollution. The encroachers behaved like thugs, the complaint stated.
Even after Tambaram commissioner M Elangovan passed the information to police and a team of personnel arrived, the encroachers created a ruckus, said S Ramachandran, a relative of the deceased Kannamal. Police, in a bid to avoid law and order problems, requested the family members to visit another crematorium in Chromepet, he said. “We did not want a confrontation and moved to another common crematorium,” Ramachandran added.
The family members and the crematorium staff said that the crematorium was being used by members a particular Hindu community group, numbering about 5,000 in the locality, for the last 30 years. However, during the recent lockdown, due to lack of any movement, many encroachers had come up on the premises, they said.
S Jayanthi, who maintains the crematorium, alleged that the encroachers had wanted to usurp the land ever since lockdown began. “They have been wanting to take over the land. If they prevent cremation, the place will go unused and they can occupy it,” she said.
Commissioner Elangovan said the crematorium would be restored, all obstructions removed and put to full use soon for the community members. “No one will be denied their rights,” he added. Tambaram police commissioner M Ravi said he had escalated the issue to the collectorate. “We will take up the issue with all the parties concerned and sort it out by restoring the rights of the affected persons by ensuring they get to perform last rights and cremation at their traditional place itself,” he said.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/encroachers-deny-family-cremation-rights/articleshow/88939568.cms