8 decades on, still no crematorium: Thane tribal villagers cremate woman in open rain

Residents of a tribal settlement in Maharashtra's Thane district alleged that they were forced to perform the last rites of a local woman on an open ground amid heavy downpours by using plastic sheets to protect the funeral pyre from rain on Tuesday.

The deceased, Jayabai Mahadu Wagh, a resident of Umbharai village in Shahapur taluka and a sitting member of the local gram panchayat committee, passed away following a brief illness.

As heavy rains lashed the region on Tuesday, grieving family members and relatives were forced to carry out the final rites under severe hardship, holding plastic sheets over the pyre to keep the flames alight, her family members said.

Local residents expressed deep resentment, stating that it is unacceptable for a community to lack an essential facility like a crematorium even nearly eight decades after Independence. They noted that every citizen has a fundamental right to a dignified funeral.

Demanding immediate intervention from the administration, local villagers urged state authorities and district officials to allocate land and construct a permanent covered shed for cremation in the Katkari hamlet.

They warned that mere assurances would no longer suffice and requested swift administrative action to resolve the long-pending issue permanently.