KOCHI: There seems to be no end in sight to the woes of the bereaved in the Thodupuzha municipal area to give a proper burial to the mortal remains of their loved ones.The insensitivity of the officials of the Thodupuzha municipality and the passive attitude of the Pollution Control Board (PCB) are said to be delaying the establishment of a crematorium in the municipal area. The people have started uniting to get their long-pending demand conceded. The common people, especially those belonging to the very backward sections in the Hindu community in Thodupuzha, are the worst affected as they have to travel several kilometres to cremate their near ones. They have to go to either Muvattupuzha or Aluva. Burials in the courtyard of houses or even inside the houses are also not rare here. The relatives of Kamakshi, a resident of Ponnambillichalil colony of Thodupuzha municipality, had to go with Kamakshi’s body to their relative’s house for the last rites last Thursday as there was no space on the premises of her house for setting up the funeral pyre.The Idukki District Collector had once suggested the establishing of a crematorium on a plot of land at Shappumpady near the Vengalloor-Mangattukavala bypass. The suggestion was made on the basis of a committee report. The municipal council then decided to acquire 30 cents of land and apply to the PCB for a No Objection Certificate (NOC). It was then decided that no permit would be given for constructing residential buildings within a radius of 50 metres of the proposed crematorium. But nothing further has happened.“We have asked the municipality to remit the fees and submit the documents. But till date it has not submitted the completed application. We cannot act on an incomplete application. We need the possession certificate, project plan and estimate to start our inquiry for giving an NOC,” the PCB authorities said.“We have given NOC to a private party for starting a hospital on the proposed land. He gave the completed application form even before the municipality did,” the PCB authorities said.PCB environment engineer S Sreekala said that now the PCB would have to take into consideration the NOC given to the private party while conducting an inquiry for the possible issuance of an NOC on the application of the municipality. The inquiry can be conducted only if the municipality submitted a properly-filled application form with supporting documents, she said.According to municipal chairman T J Joseph, the PCB delayed the procedure to favour the private party. “They are asking us to submit documents which cannot be submitted,” he added.On the other hand, the municipality has not gone a step ahead from the decisions of the council two years ago.“I want the municipality to have a crematorium. It is the duty of the municipality to initiate the procedures for it. I don’t know any details of this issue,” said Water Resources Minister P J Joseph who is the local MLA. Municipal vice-chairman Joseph John belongs to the Kerala Congress (M), the minister’s party. “The municipality must have a crematorium. The major problem is that the people who raise their voice for it will go against the project when the proposed land is identified somewhere near their house,” said P T Thomas MP from Thodupuzha.Now the plan, according to the people’s representatives, is to have crematorium for the Thodupuzha municipality and the Manakkad panchayat at Manakkad, a place near Thodupuzha.
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