Sambhal Funeral Procession Forced Through 300-Metre Muddy Road To Cremation Ground

A funeral procession in Sambhal district was forced to pass through a nearly 300-metre-long stretch of mud and stagnant water, highlighting the condition of development works in the area. The video of the procession moving along the muddy road emerged at around 4 pm on Friday. Following this, questions were raised about the functioning of the administration.

According to the family, the funeral procession had left at around 12:30 pm. The relatives and villagers were compelled to carry the body through the same waterlogged and muddy stretch because there was no proper route available.

The incident took place in Basita village, in the Junawai block area of Gunnour tehsil. Udal Singh (70), a resident of the village, had died due to fever. His three sons, Chhange, Jeevaram and Meghnath, along with relatives and around 150 to 200 villagers, joined the last journey.

To reach the cremation ground, the villagers had to cross the same 300-metre-long, marsh-like road. The video showing the funeral procession passing through the mud has now brought renewed attention to the road and drainage arrangements in the village.

Villager Virendra Singh said the approximately 300-metre-long road in the village had been in poor condition for a long time. He said that whenever someone dies in the village, the funeral procession has to pass through this route.

According to Virendra Singh, this is the main road leading to the cremation ground. He alleged that the villagers had repeatedly asked the BDO, the village secretary and the village head to remove the mud from the road and arrange for brick paving and a drain.

However, he said that the problem had still not been resolved. Every monsoon, water accumulates on the road, turning the entire stretch into what villagers described as a pond.

The villagers said that repeated complaints had not brought any solution to the problem. The condition of the road during the funeral procession has now raised questions over why the route to the cremation ground has not been repaired despite the requests.

The villagers have demanded that the district administration repair the 300-metre-long road as soon as possible. They have also sought proper drainage arrangements so that no one has to face such difficulty in the future.