
Govt allots land for crematoriums in Morjim, Mandrem
Mapusa:
State govt has allotted land for crematoriums in Morjim and Mandrem. The crematorium is expected to resolve a critical and sensitive issue for the residents of these villages, ensuring dignified final rites for the deceased.
Govt has provided a place for the cemetery for the fishermen at Vithaldaswada in Morjim, and the allotment letter was handed over to the local panchayat member Vilas Morje.
The traditional fisherfolk at Morjim had sought relaxations from the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to carry out repairs and renovations at their crematorium, near a turtle nesting site. The fisherfolk from Vithaldaswada had asked the GCZMA to allow them to repair the crematorium's compound wall or at least permit them to carry out bio-fencing.
Morjim residents used to face difficulties in conducting final rites due to a lack of a crematorium.
There was once an incident of a body lying for an extended period in Mandrem and an incident wherein the local residents attempted to take a body to the chief minister's official residence at Panaji.
Former MLA Dayanand Sopte said that the citizens of Vithaldaswada did not have a proper cemetery. The residents were pursuing the issue for many years.
Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar welcomed the cabinet decision of allotting 2,000 sqm land for crematorium in Mandrem.
This was a long pending demand of the locals, he said.
In 2011, over hundred of residents of Bagwado, Morjim, had marched towards the chief minister's residence along with a body of a 55-year-old woman after a Delhi-based businessman had refused to allow cremation at the traditional crematorium.
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