There are many graveyards and crematoriums for communities of various faiths in Canacona taluka. The Christians have a decent place for burial of the deceased but the forbearers of the Hindu community who are vast in number in Canacona taluka face hardships while cremating the departed because of no maintenance and thick and heavy vegetation that has grown at the site.
There are many crematoriums at various places in Canacona taluka and except for one crematorium located at Madditolop, Loliem, the rest are in a shabby state of affairs.
The crematorium at Loliem was in poor condition as well. Wild bushes had grown all around and the Congress Block president, Elvis Fernandes and deputy sarpanch Xavier of Loliem-Polem panchayat gathered hands with the Hindu brethren and cleaned the bushes and made a pathway for people visiting the crematorium. The report was published in Herald dated 2nd October 2008, under the caption ‘Christians, Hindus join hands to clean crematorium’.
The crematorium at Nagarcem is located in the valley but is filled with bushes and shrubs and has not been maintained for decades. Local councillor, Hemant Gaonkar of this ward had said that formalities for renovation will be taken up in a short period of time. The proposal for this work was taken up by then CMC councilor Ranghunath Naik Gaonkar and was pending because the tenders for this and a lot of other work was held up due to the election code of conduct that came into force.
Meanwhile, people have begun to use any vacant place to cremate the dead and some people object to this because of the strange belief that the dead will come to their village and harass them in their afterlife.
According to Anant Gaonkar, a social worker and retired teacher from Nagarcem, the Hindu crematorium situated at Shirewada on the way to Chapoli Dam has two different spots to light a pyre, but lacks even a proper approachable path from the nearest tarred road.
A visit to the area reveals that the place has never been cleaned from creepers spreading all around. It gives off an eerie vibe to passersby. Sources informed Herald that this crematorium is extensively used by most of the people to cremate the dead but it is very inconvenient to carry the bodies to the area.
However, it is learnt through other sources that only those who don’t own land to cremate their dead are using this Municipality cum common crematorium at Nagarcem.
Sources informed this correspondent that a decently maintained Hindu crematorium is a must in the council area. Due to the unhealthy maintenance of the existing one, a number of residents prefer to perform the cremation away from the common crematorium.
According to Mahadev Desai, a former Councilor of Pansulem ward, the existing crematorium at Pansulem is already in a dilapidated condition and some roof asbestos sheets are missing while it also requires repairs on its gate.
Also those cremating on the beach in Palolem, Colomb, Patnem, Rajbag, Galgibaga etc and some hillocks in neighborhoods within municipals jurisdictions (as practiced by different community residents) have to be stopped all together, after these beaches and isolated places were lately developed for tourism purposes. “Considering the increasing population and the unavailability of rare private places, it is very essential to have a bigger capacity and a properly maintained Hindu crematorium within the municipal region,” said former Chairperson of CMC Ranghanath Naik Gaunkar. The village Panchayats of Gaondongrem and Cotigao in Canacona don’t have any public crematorium and they prefer to cremate the dead in the forest.
