A civic body in Telangana’s Karimnagar district has come up with a scheme to offer funeral services at a cost of just one rupee to help poor families perform the last rites for their loved ones.
Sardar Ravinder Singh, mayor of Karimnagar, has announced that the municipal corporation will bear all the expenses for the last rites of the dead irrespective of their caste or religion – whether it is cremation or burial.
“We shall provide hearse van for taking out the funeral procession, material required for performing the last rites, including flowers, garlands, firewood, sandalwood pieces, kerosene, ghee, new clothes for the person performing the funeral, all free of cost. We shall charge only Re 1 for record’s sake,” Singh said
Ravinder Singh was born and raised in Andhra Pradesh, and is now mayor of Karimnagar. Following the life of a staunch Sikh, he chose to join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to find avenues to follow the ‘rehat maryada” as preached by the Sikh Gurus.
A close confidante of Chief Minister K Chandra Shekhar Rao (KCR), he is in the news once again—this time for launching a scheme that would provide funeral facilities for the poor at a token cost of Rs 1.
“This would help the poor and those from the middle classes bid the final adieu with respect and dignity,” he says.
The Karimnagar Municipal Corporation (KMC) will not question anyone who approaches it for help, he says.
Singh said he has been donating Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 to the poor for performing the last rites of their family members for the last ten years.
“But I have realised that performing last rites as per the rituals is as costly as performing a marriage, especially among the Hindus. So, I got this idea of funding the cost of the funeral from the municipal corporation budget itself,” he said.
The corporation would also arrange for food for about 50 relatives of the deceased after the funeral at a cost of Rs 5 per head if they wanted. About 2,000 volunteers working for the municipal corporation would coordinate with authorities in implementing the Re 1 funeral scheme.
Citing Guru Gobind Singh shabad “manas ki jat sabhe eke paihcanbo” that recognises all of mankind as a single caste of humanity, Ravinder Singh said that even for people who do not cremate, but bury their dead, the KMC will help follow the religious practice as per their traditions. The KMC will arrange two vehicles to carry the deceased in procession for their last journey. They too will be charged a mere Rs 1 for the assistance.
This scheme being termed as “Antim Yatra” or “Aakhri Safar” (final procession) will be formally launched on June 15.