Desk Report: A group of youths in the town has taken a laudable initiative for helping people of the Hindu community to carry the dead bodies of their near and dear ones to the crematorium with ease, reports Daily Star.
The townspeople, especially the poor ones, have been facing difficulty in carrying bodies to Sherpur Municipal Shery Crematorium situated on the Mrigi river by Sherpur-Jamalpur Highway, about five kilometres west of the district town.
“I with my friends decided to build a van to carry bodies after seeing five people carrying a body to the crematorium amid drizzle at night in front of Gopalbari Mandir in Sherpur town in the middle of last year,” said Suman Dutta, member of Swargarath Implementation Committee comprising 23 youths.
Spending about Tk 2 lakh, they arranged building a battery-run rickshaw-van for carrying the bodies of people of Hindu community to the crematorium. They named it ‘Swargarath’ and handed it over to the crematorium management committee at a programme on the premises of Gopalbari Mandir in the town on July 25. On a spot visit it was found that a stainless steel structure for Swargarath was built on a battery-run rickshaw van. A big cot was set on the van for keeping the body. A tin shed is also set to save the bodies from rain. A religious hymn has been inscribed on the beautifully decorated vehicle and an audio recorder has been set for airing devotional songs.
“Process is on to appoint a driver for the van. When the appointment is made, the body of any person of Hinduism from any area in the district town can be transported to the crematorium on the Swargarath,” said Priotosh Paul, vice president of crematorium management committee.
Work is on to build a structure beside the crematorium for keeping the vehicle safely
Appreciating the initiative of 23 youths, Chandan Kumar Paul, general secretary of district Awami League, also former general secretary of Puja Udjapon Parishad, said the people of Sherpur had been feeling the need of such a vehicle for transporting the bodies to the crematorium.