The recent flooding that hit southern Tamil Nadu rendered the local cemetery unfit for burial, therefore the people of Thoothukudi employed a mobile cremator that ran on LPG cylinders.
All twelve crematoriums designated for individuals belonging to different castes were rendered useless by the unceasing rain, forcing the locals to look for other choices.
Thoothukudi Corporation resident Ganesan stated that the crematorium and cemetery are still two feet below the surface of the sea. Some locals are moving their deceased to far-off places so they may be cremated.
“To be buried, the bodies are being transported to Kovilpatti or Thiruvannamalai.” It will take an additional five months for the area to be eligible for body burial since water will still be there if you dig down more than a foot, according to Ganesan.
According to Tamilselvan, who operates an ambulance service, the villagers used two commercial LPG cylinders to construct a makeshift cremator in light of the circumstances.
Hindus lack a location to cremate the remains of the departed, while Christians are transporting the bodies of their loved ones to different neighborhoods. “We don’t think normalcy will return anytime soon,” he said.
The body takes one hour to burn, and the ashes take an additional fifteen minutes to cool. There isn’t anything else we can do,” Tamilselvan continued.
He said that residents had no way of getting in touch with government representatives. Nonetheless, he brought the matter to the attention of Thoothukudi Mayor Jagan Periyasamy and requested funding for the cremation of the remains.
Since December 17, regions like Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli have seen unusually high levels of rain and floods. Since many regions are still flooded, rescue and rehabilitation work is still ongoing.
