Author: Joyeeta Basu
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: November 27, 2003
URL: http://web.mid-day.com/metro/lokhandwala/2003/november/69818.htm
Traffic at the JB Nagar junction
in Andheri (W), which joins SV Road to Link Road, came to a standstill
for an hour on Nov 20 when protesters from the Wadar Samaj (a Maharashtrian
community that buries their dead), placed a corpse in the middle of the
road.
The body was of 74-year-old Balu
Munnapa Kushala, who had died the previous evening due to natural causes.
Ramu Babu Khosalkar, the dead man's
son, say he was forced to stage this unusual protest because of the neglected
state of the cemetery. This plot of land behind the Andheri Sports Complex
was being illegally encroached upon and used as a refuse dump.
That morning, the relatives of the
dead man had an altercation with the encroachers and were beaten up. After
no action was taken by cops, they decided to stage this unusual protest.
Police inspector Manikrao Akolkar
at Oshiwara police station says, "After the incident, four persons were
arrested and a case was registered against them at the Magistrate's Court
in Andheri.
The court ordered that they be kept
in custody until Nov 24 and a hearing was set for the same date." He adds,
"However on Nov 24, the court hearing was postponed."
BMC officials state, "We will be
breaking down the encroached dwellings in the lane soon." But when this
reporter visited the site on Nov 25, no watchman was present and no action
had been taken.
Though the lane is full of shops
and encroachers who are responsible for throwing the garbage, residents
refuse to divulge identities of people involved.
Mohammed Sheikh, a resident of the
area, says, "The ground is full of overgrown plants and piled up garbage.
The watchman is never around and the gate has no lock, so it is accessible
to all."
Khosalkar says, "The demolition
drive did not take place on Nov 25. When we contacted them, officials at
the BMC told us that they would take action after Eid, as most of the residents
in the lane are Muslims."
Status of the plot
The Wadars have been using the plot
for four generations. They share the burial ground with three other communities
- the Dhangar Samaj, Kannada Samaj and another community from Chennai.
Community members say the lane leading
to the crematorium has been encroached upon over the last four to five
years.
They add that garbage kept being
dumped along the lane, towards the gate of the cemetery. Today the dump
is on the right side of the gate to the cemetery, with garbage flowing
on to the land as well.
Timeline of the incident
Nov 20, 7.30 am: Khosalkar and his
relatives go to the cemetery to dig a grave.
7.40 am: Scuffle between the Wadars
and encroachers in which the former are injured.
7.50 am: Wadars lodge a complaint
with Oshiwara police station.
11.15 am: Wadars take body out
of the house.
11.40 am: They block the road.
12.40 am: DN Nagar police arrive
at scene, but are sent back as the cemetery does not fall under their jurisdiction.
1.20 am: Cops from Oshiwara police
station arrive at scene.
1.30 am: Ward officer Govind Rathod
arrives. He promises to take further action.
2.20 am: Body is finally buried.
An interview with Ramu Khosalkar
Why did you decide to use this method
of protest?
"For years the cemetery was full
of garbage. I had approached several media persons and subsequently two
TV crews came and shot the place, but nothing was ever done. After we got
beaten up that morning, we decided to take this drastic step."
Don't you think the act was disrespectful
to the dead?
"My mother was upset at first, but
my aim was to give my father a decent burial. The miscreants and the garbage
were preventing that from happening.
Our aim was to see that the matter
was resolved. If need be, we will take such an extreme step again."
Has your problem been resolved now?
"We met with the ward officer on
Nov 24 and told him that we were prepared to station a security guard funded
by our community at the plot in addition to the watchman appointed by the
BMC.
The ward officer, Govind Rathod,
promised us that the illegal construction would be razed and the garbage
removed."
Who are the Wadars?
Avinash Kubal, a tribal expert,
and director of the Maharashtra Nature Park, says that Wadars have basically
been classified as a nomadic tribe who specialise in stone work.
He adds, "They largely hail from
Osamabad, Beed, Marathwada and the Maharashtra-Karnataka border area. Over
the years, they have adapted to the arid landscape in these areas by burying
their dead instead of cremating them, which is the normal Hindu practice."
Says Khosalkar, "We hail from south
Karnataka, and today we are the fifth generation living in Mumbai. There
are 200 of us alone living on Gilbert Hill Road, and about 10,000 in and
around Andheri. Our forefathers used to work as stone cutters with a company
that used to exist then."
(joyeeta@mid-day.com)
