Administrative stalemate holding up crematorium
The Hindu
Many residents of Paingottoor do not have land of their own for funerals
For the people of Paingottoor panchayat, an idyllic village on the eastern suburbs of Ernakulam bordering the neighbouring Idukki district, the trauma of the loss of dear ones goes beyond their very death.
The panchayat with considerable forest cover and the population being largely made up of poor migrant farmers, majority of the residents do not have land of their own to either bury or cremate the bodies. Their only option being to take the bodies to the municipal crematorium either at Muvattuzha or Thodupuzha located around 17 km and 16 km away respectively.
Though Kothamangalam block panchayat had identified around 50 cents of excess land in Neduvakkad in ward 3 of Paingottoor panchayat for an electric crematorium in association with Paingottoor panchayat back in 2016-17, it has been a case of continued disruption.
Around 440 MBBS graduates of 2021 are not required to undergo one year of compulsory rural service as per the bond signed by them while joining the medical course through government-quota seats in 2015 as the High Court of Karnataka has said the law, enacted in 2012 for mandatory rural service, remained unenforced for 10 years as it was published in the official gazette only in July 2022.