Expensive firewood for lighting the funeral pyres has become a poll issue in a village of Bathinda constituency where SAD’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal is pitted against Manpreet Badal of PPP, supported by Congress.
As you travel through the bumpy terrain of the not-so-affluent countryside, you realise the “poor” villagers in Bathinda are suffering from the pinch of the spiralling prices not only in dealing with their day-to-day needs for essential commodities, but also for firewood. For them, Rs 700 a quintal is “too much” to perform last rites of their dead.
“Rs 700 for every quintal means spending something between Rs 3,000-3,500 to cremate the dead, as a minimum of four to five quintals are required for one person...how can we manage this wayIJ” Mohan Singh (name changed), a resident of Harrai Pur village in Bathinda district asks.
Working as a landless farmer and a daily wager, he earns Rs 150 every day for his family of five, including his aged mother, son and his wife and daughter. “It’s really difficult to run home with such a low income, and things become all the more difficult when someone in your family dies,” said Mohan, who was in his fifties.
Mohan, along with many other villagers, rued that cutting wood for the purpose of using as firewood from the forest areas is barred and they left with no option to spend huge amount.
“My mother passed away last month...she was ill, and thus lot of money spent on her treatment...we did not have enough money to buy firewood, and bought some by cutting dried trees from the fields…but the forest officials caught us and registered a FIR as the area comes under forest department...we had to pay Rs 11,000 for our release,” stated Rajesh.
Facing double jeopardy of passing away of their loved ones, and spending huge amount to cremate them, the residents of around 10 villages have been demanding the setting up electric crematorium or something that would use less firewood.
“We have many times requested the leaders, and also suggested to them to set up a common electric system that would use less or no firewood and would cater to three-four villages collectively...but no one listens to us,” says Jyanti Devi, a resident of Jeeda village.
The villagers are willing to bury their hatchets with any political party, which will allow their dead to rest in peace, and are in no mood to let the issue of the lifeless die its natural death.
For them, death brings sorrow of bereavement and the grief of expenditure. They know their near and dears depart after leaving on them the burden of their funeral. No wonder, they do not want the netas to disappear without putting to rest their problems before the canvassing dies down.