MARGAO
In times of the pandemic, volunteers of the Popular Front of India are on a different mission “ carrying bodies from the mortuaries to the burial and cremation grounds for last rites.
With touts swarming around to exploit the families and a full-proof government mechanism to protect relatives of the dead from being fleeced by unscrupulous agents, still to fall in place to place, PFI members volunteer to carry bodies of Covid victims in their hearse van to the cemeteries and cremation ground.
In fact, the PFI is believed to have mobilized a good number of volunteers to offer help and assistance to the relatives of the dead in times of distress. These volunteers are based in Margao, Ponda, Valpoi, Panaji and other parts of the state to ensure that no family is exploited by the touts and agents.
PFI Goa leader Mohammed Imran said PFI volunteers step in whenever any family finds it difficult to carry the body of their loved one to the cemetery or cremation ground. “We do not discriminate on the basis of religion. We have carried the mortal remains of Covid victims to the cemeteries as well as the cremation grounds”, Imran said.
To a question, he insisted that the PFI volunteers do not charge any fees for carrying the bodies, saying the service offered by the organization is free. “Sometime, we have to take the body from the South district hospital to far away places in North Goa. It’s another matter that if the family volunteers to take care of the fuel cost, but we make it sure that the bodies are transported for the last rites without any charges”, he added.
