Officials try to wash hands of their responsibility of preventing burials

The residents of Handewadi road in Hadapsar had a rude shock some five months ago, when one fine day an unused piece of Pune Municipal Corporation land was used to bury dead bodies. This place located near Vivekananda Industrial Estate is an upcoming residential area and numerous projects are on the verge of completion.

The first burial happened in April after which a couple of builders and locals through a NGO ufffd Matru Bhoomi Social Foundation ufffd had sent a notice to the PMC to look into the matter.

After repeated reminders the PMC had issued a notice that said the land was public and semi-public and could be used either as library or park. The copies of the letter were sent to the respective ward office and local police station.

Though the burials had stopped for two months, two weeks ago it started again.

Panduranga Narang Mate, a resident of that area said, "We hadn't noticed the burial process in the beginning because it used to happen at night. After two bodies were buried, we noticed it and immediately contacted the foundation for help. None of the authorities are taking action and we don't know whom to contact."

Shyam Shinde, a resident, said: "I have been noticing the burials happening for more than five months now. There is no use raising any voice because the authorities do not take action."

The PMC in its letter had mentioned that a board will be put up on the spot and immediate action will be taken whenever there is a burial. But when MiD DAY visited the spot on Monday afternoon, there was no sign of any boards.

Blame game
Furthermore, the authorities are trying to pass the buck.

Ward Officer Madhav Jagtap said that he was aware of the illegal burials and adequate steps had been taken to avoid it.
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However, when asked why the burials were still continuing, he blamed the higher authorities in the PMC. "It's the job of the PMC and any action has to be taken from there. We have nothing to do with the matter," Jagtap said.

The Wanowrie police station said it was the job of the ward officer to take action. Senior Police officer Shivajirao Kanase said: "We haven't received any letter from PMC; once we receive it, we will take adequate measures. It's the job of the ward office."

R R Pardeshi, chief medical officer, health, PMC said, "I am sure we have put up the board. It was probably removed by some miscreants. I will check on the status of the problem."u00a0u00a0