Dispute over land forces family to perform burial on road in Tumakuru
The situation has arisen due to landowners encroaching on Raja kaluve and kharabu (public lands), creating obstacles for funerals. This has left the villagers concerned about where to bury the dead
A body was buried on a village road as the funeral was obstructed in the local graveyard near Kataganahalli in Pavagada taluk of Tumakuru district, officials said
According to officials, Eranna, a 65-year-old resident of the village, died on Sunday due to illness. The family had prepared to perform the last rites near the Raja kaluve (village canal). However, the owner of the land adjacent to the canal claimed ownership and refused to allow the funeral. “This is our land; do not perform the funeral here,” the owner said. Despite pleas from the deceased’s family, they were not permitted to perform the last rites.
After the obstruction, Eranna’s relatives proceeded to bury the body on the road that connects the village to the land.
The situation has arisen due to landowners encroaching on Raja kaluve and kharabu (public lands), creating obstacles for funerals. This has left the villagers concerned about where to bury the deceased. Villagers have alleged that the commotion and disruptions during the arrival of a body have prevented peaceful funeral ceremonies.
“Since decades we are using this kharabu land as graveyard situated beside Raja Kaluve but the upper class land owners objected funeral on Monday,” Kenchappa, a relative of the deceased, told reporters. He said they are unnecessarily creating trouble to grab the land.
“The village has no separate graveyard for each community,” Kataganahalli gram panchayat member K H Chandra Shekara told HT.
He said the Dalit communities had to wait for half an hour till the intervention of tehsildar to sort the issue after he complained to revenue authorities, but the relatives hurriedly cremated the body.
“I visited the spot along with the officials on Tuesday. Many villagers encroached the kharabu land belonging to the government,” B Varadaraju, Pavagada tahsildar, told HT. He said he summoned upper class land owners to the spot and they agreed to not obstruct to the funeral in the future. He said the officials would conduct survey of the land and would evict encroachers soon. “As there is no graveyard, all the villagers are cremating in that place. I have already sanctioned 1 acre land in the village for public graveyard in survey number 62 of Kataganahalli which is a kilometer away,” he added.
