Samiti home delivers material for last rites

In a one of its kind services, the Gramin Seva Sehkari Samiti (GSSS) in Ganganagar is delivering materials necessary for performing last rites to bereaved families.

Performing the last rites at times can be a costly affair in rural Rajasthan and that’s how the idea of starting the service came into being. The 22-STB GSSS is the first to start the service in Siddhuwala village, around 25km from Suratgarh, and is delivering materials at home on a no-profit-no-loss basis to grieving families.

The 22-STB GSSS has 622 members and covers four villages.

Integrated Cooperative Development Project (ICDP), general manager, Balvinder Singh Gill said that the initiative was started in January and till date around 58 families has benefitted from the initiative. “Arranging materials for the last rites in remote areas is a difficult task, especially when a family is under shock. It takes hours to travel to the nearest big town and buy materials,” he said.

Gill said that last year they were studying various modules of other states and found that Telangana’s Mulkanoor GSSS members are served from birth until death. “Looking at which, we thought of launching such a service. Our objective is to serve and not generate profit. One has to pay around ₹7,500 for the materials at the market, but we are providing it at ₹3,400,” he said.

In order to start such a service, the GSSS first developed a supermarket and by January 2017 the service was launched. It runs 24x7 without any holidays. “For the development of the samiti, the state government has provided monitory assistance. The 22STB GSSS was given ₹3 lakh under ICDP. The initiative is providing relief to families,” said Ajay Singh Kilak, state cooperative minister.