I settled down in Besant Nagar around 31 years ago with mixed feelings. The Tamil Nadu Housing Board had allotted my flat on Fourth Cross Street, which is very close to the cremation ground. The cremation ground had no compound wall at that time and bodies were being burnt in an open shed, which every passer-by could see.
When I first visited my flat by around 7 p.m. in the evening, I saw a body burning in the cremation ground. Coupled with the darkness, the scene frightened me and my family. I then took up the issue with an authority concerned and pleaded for the shifting of the cremation ground from the middle of the housing colony. He was kind enough to forward my letter for appropriate action but nothing really happened. A public interest litigation was also filed in the court. Finally, the Corporation decided to build a compound wall around the cremation ground which was constructed in quick time. Subsequently, the Corporation came forward to construct an electric crematorium and banned the burning of bodies on the open ground.
While the condition, even today, is far from acceptable, residents like me have become tired of complaining and perhaps have reconciled and become ‘cremation-friendly.’
(N.S.Venkataraman is a resident of Besant Nagar)
He is the founder trustee of Nandini Voice For The Deprived.
