Hit By Poverty, Family Fails To Bring Back Body Of Son From Tamil Nadu

Sonepur: Nothing can be more agonizing for a man than seeing the corpse of own his son but it becomes more painful when financial constraint stops him from conducting the final rites. Purushottam Luha of Jharkumunda village in Birmaharajpur block is witness to one such unfortunate incident.

According to sources, Purushottam’s son Sanath, working as a bonded labourer in Coimbatore area of Tamil Nadu for last two years, died on Saturday. After receiving information of his demise, Purushottam and his family members tried to bring Sanath’s body back to Odisha, however, as it required around Rs 60,000 for the purpose, they sought help from the district labour officer to make necessary arrangements.

Later, when the authorities did not take any noticeable action apart from just writing a letter in connection with the matter, Sanath’s body was reportedly cremated in Coimbatore.

Failing to perform Sanath’s last rites, his poor family has blamed the administration for showing lackadaisical attitude in helping them. Locals of the area have requested the authorities for compensation to the aggrieved family.

Sonepur District Labour Officer Dileswar Xakha said, “We coordinated with Coimbatore district administration and police to bring back body of the deceased but because of some reason, the authorities decided to cremate his body there.”