MYSURU, 9 JAN

A 56-year-old woman’s body was kept for nearly two days in T Narasipura town due to the lack of a burial site for the nomadic Koracha families. The incident occurred in the home district of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, with the town represented by District Minister HC Mahadevappa.

Rathnamma, 56, the wife of Hanumanthappa, had migrated from Davangere nearly 30 years ago and settled in T Narasipura. She passed away from an illness on Tuesday. Belonging to the Scheduled Caste Koracha community, her family held local identification documents, including Aadhaar and ration cards, with their T Narasipura address.

Despite this, local residents who have separate burial grounds for communities such as scheduled tribe Nayakas, Kurubas, Vokkaligas, Veerashaivas, Scheduled Castes, and other backward classes did not allow Rathnamma’s family to perform her last rites in the town. They cited her status as a migrant from Davanagere.

With no other option, Rathnamma’s family transported her body to their native place in Davangere, where they conducted her last rites on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters, Dalit Sangharsha Samithi district convener Alagud Shivakumar highlighted the plight of around 30 nomadic Koracha families living in T Narasipura for nearly 40 years, eking out a living through menial jobs. Despite repeated pleas to the government for a separate burial ground, their demands have been ignored, he said. -Salar News