Vellore: Very few officials here could sympathetically view the situation of carrying dead bodies to be cremated, across a swollen river.
With repeated pleas to officials for a bridge falling on deaf ears, the villagers of Serpadi in Annaicut assembly constituency in the district still carry their dead across the river to reach a burning ghat.
A jungle stream 'Peyaar' originates from the hills surrounding Serpadi, and runs through the village for a short distance before merging with river 'Palar'.
Hence, Serpadi villagers have to cross the river, sometimes even wading through neck-deep waters carrying the corpses, to perform the last rites of their dead.
The villagers have for several years carried on with this burden, and yet nothing has been done to address the problem.
The villagers approached DMK MLA Nandhakumar for a solution, who immediately met the collector with a petition seeking a bridge over the river. But it went futile. Several subsequent attempts to seek a solution from the collector has still brought no relief.
Some even have uploaded photos of the funeral processions crossing the waters, on social media, but failed to move the hearts of the powers that be.
