Members of the procession tried different locations on the banks of Tinau river, but squatters would not allow them to cremate the dead body.[break]
The procession members lost patience after a tractor that was bringing firewood to cremate Shrestha was stopped by the squatters. After heated verbal exchanges, the squatters left and Shrestha was finally cremated.
A year ago, members of the funeral procession of Chiniya Lal Shrestha of Ganeshtole, Butwal-1, exchanged blows with squatters on the cremation ground at Majuwa Sinar.
“A scuffle took place after the squatters prevented us from cremating Shrestha,” said Raju Ligal, a member of the procession. The body was eventually cremated after police intervened.
These days such quarrels have become common as squatters who have encroached on both sides of the Tinau River do not easily allow dead bodies to be cremated there saying it leads to bad odor.
With landless squatter settlements dotting the entire stretch of the river´s banks, residents of Butwal are faced with a serious scarcity of cremation ground.
Squatters say they will not allow cremation on all three cremations grounds built by the municipality - Tinaughat, Mainawarghat and Majuwaghat.
The only cremation ground left for Butwal residents is the one at Yogikuti used by Magars. However, water is not available there. As per the Hindu tradition, dead bodies must be cremated at a place where there is water nearby.
The population of Butwal municipality is 250,000.
Tilak Ram Poudel, acting chairman of Butwal Elders Society, said unavailability of cremation ground is a matter of shame to a civilized society. He added that the municipality must make arrangements to ensure that the dead are properly cremated.
The municipality´s senior officer Bhuwa Prasad Luintel said the office is planning to build a cremation ground. But a solid plan has not emerged yet as water is drying up in the rivers every year and squatter settlements are growing, he said.
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