Over 1L residents of 80 housing societies in Manesar without crematoriums

Sumedha Sharma

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Gurugram, February 22

Over one lakh residents of approximately 80 residential complexes in Manesar have collectively appealed to the state government for the construction of cremation grounds in the vicinity of their societies.

Forced to travel at least 3 km

• Currently, residents of 80 societies are required to travel a minimum of 3 km to perform the last rites of their loved ones
• Though there are 25 cremation grounds in the area, they are situated within 30 villages whose authorities refuse access to society residents
• The United Association of New Gurugram has sought at least three grounds with the facility of electric cremations

They have been advocating for the same for the past seven years as they are currently required to travel a minimum of 3 km to perform the last rites of their loved ones. Though there are 25 cremation grounds in the area, they are situated within 30 villages whose authorities refuse access to society residents.

Representatives of these housing societies have approached various ministers and government departments over the years, yet their pleas have gone unheard. With the BJP actively inaugurating projects in Gurugram, these societies are urging the government to address their longstanding demand.

“The villages do have cremation grounds but they are not open to us, and we are not allowed to use them. Every time there is a death, we have to either go to our native places or villages or travel a minimum of 30 km to Madanpuri to cremate our dead. It’s a sorry state of affairs that despite living in posh condominiums and paying so much tax, we don’t have this basic civic convenience,” said Praveen Malik, President of the United Association of New Gurugram.

The association has sought at least three grounds with the facility of electric cremations. They want the grounds to be set up for society residents from Sectors 76 to 90. The demand has been reiterated after the Municipal Corporation of Manesar (MCM) announced the beautification of 10 cremation grounds in local villages. According to the plan, the MCM will spend up to Rs 6 crore on revamping the cremation grounds of Manesar, Koh, Sehrawan, Sehrawan Dhani, Kasan, Kasan Dhani, Prem Nagar, Nanwal, Kukrola and Fazalwas villages.

“While all thanks to the power of their vote bank, the villages are getting the grounds revamped. The societies, which form an important part of the district exchequer and pay property tax in addition to other taxes imposed by builders, etc, have to wait for years for the basic right to a cremation ground. It’s sad but true that even to get cremated, we have to pay toll,” added Malik.