This story is from July 23, 2021

No ‘dry land’ to cremate bodies at this flooded Darbhanga village

No ‘dry land’ to cremate bodies at this flooded Darbhanga village
The spot used as ‘shamshan ghat’ was under waist to neck-deep water.
PATNA: Nobody can escape death, but the residents of Mahisaut village under Kusheshwarsthan block in Darbhanga district pray to the almighty that nobody dies during the monsoon months when the nondescript hamlet turns into an island and cremation of bodies becomes a nightmare for the locals.
The residents of the village were at their wit’s end when Shivni Yadav (90) breathed his last late Tuesday night.
The next morning, the family members started searching dry land in nearby villages on country boats to cremate the body, but in vain. The spot used as ‘shamshan ghat’ was under waist to neck-deep water.
Somebody suggested the family to throw the body into the floodwaters, which was opposed by the latter. Finally, they devised a novel way to perform the last rites as per Hindu rituals. The villagers erected a ‘machan’ with the help of bamboo sticks, placed the body in a ‘kothi’ made of mud, used dry timber and lit the pyre.
Ram Pratap Yadav (36), son of the dead man, said he made three rounds of the pyre on a country boat amid chanting of mantras by a local priest. People on six country boats attended the funeral procession and a separate boat carried the body.
“Death during the monsoon months at the village means torture to the bodies,” said Dilip Yadav, a local. Shivakant Thakur, a local priest, said burning the bodies is the best form of their disposal as per Hindu belief.
A former mukhiya, Pramod Chaudhary, said villages under Kusheshwarsthan block remain inundated with floodwaters for nearly six months a year.
Famous for its Shiva temple, Kusheshwarsthan is nearly 60km from the district headquarters.
Former circle officer of Kusheshwarsthan block, Triveni Prasad, said he was not aware of the cremation, but admitted that people face difficulties in disposing of the bodies when floodwaters inundate the villages.
Darbhanga DM Thiyagrajan SM could be contacted despite repeated attempts.
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