Lockdown makes every burial a cross to bear

We're only asking for a cemetery, not bungalows, say Thane's Christians

It has been 35 years since the Christian community of Thane began using land atop a hillock abutting the MIDC as a cemetery, but this land is still awaiting a boundary wall, lights, water or even road access. Coffins must be hauled up 200 steps to reach the path to the cemetery, a half-kilometre trudge.

The pandemic and lockdown have only served to exacerbate the woes being faced by the fivelakh strong community in Thane. In pre-lockdown times, as many as 10 labourers were engaged to carry the coffin up the steps of the hillock but now, families must struggle with the laborious task themselves.

Pramila Saroj recalls how hard it was for their family to carry her mother's body to the cemetery after she passed away last month. “We had a very tough time,” says Saroj.

“Four men from the family took the coffin up the steps. They had to stop

every now and then for a breather because they are not used to it all,” she said. She remembers how the cortege had to walk over other tombs as they navigated the narrow path on the way to the allotted space, with tombs on either side of the path. Though it was a bright afternoon, they were afraid to be there for long because the area is “like a jungle”, she says. Edwin Jacob, whose uncle passed away in May and was buried in the same cemetery, says he got his friends to help carry the coffin, as labourers were not available in the lockdown.

“My grandfather was buried in the same (Thane) cemetery five years ago. There is so much wild growth there that we don’t know where exactly his coffin is, now,” says Jacob. The women of the family were asked to stay away from both, the burial and a subsequent ritual, in view of the terrain and safety concerns.