Floods force Palghar family to keep deceased body on roof for 12 hours

Fearing that the body could be swept away if left inside the house, family members removed a portion of the asbestos roof and placed the body on the rooftop

PALGHAR: A family in flood-hit Palghar was forced to keep the body of a 55-year-old member on the roof of their home for nearly 12 hours after rising floodwaters inundated their village, making it impossible to perform her last rites and due to fears that the body could be washed away if kept on the ground.

Floods force Palghar family to keep deceased body on roof for 12 hours

Anusuya Manohar Lilaka, 55, a resident of Devipada near Kelwe railway station, died late on July 5 while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Dhundalwadi, Dahanu taluka.

Her family brought the body by ambulance up to Kelwe Road railway station. However, the nearest access road to the village was cut off after an underpass beneath a railway bridge was submerged under four to five feet of flowing water.

Finding no other alternative, the family carried the body on their shoulders through the flooded stretch to reach home.

Soon after, heavy rain lashed the area again, flooding the region. Fearing that the body could be swept away if left inside the house, family members removed a portion of the asbestos roof and placed the body on the rooftop and covered it with a black plastic sheet. After nearly 12 hours when the floodwater receded, the woman’s last rites were performed on the afternoon of July 6.

Palghar taluka recorded 164.6 mm of rain on July 5, 203.5 mm on July 6 and 257 mm on July 7.