For a decade now, A. Manoharan, a 59-year-old social activist of Aravakurichi, has been frequenting the mortuary of government hospitals with garlands and new clothes.
Fondly called by his admirers with the prefix MGR, Mr. Manoharan has been at the helm of ensuring dignified burial to unclaimed bodies.
On Tuesday morning, too, Mr. Manoharan fulfilled the request of Aravakurichi police for burial of an unclaimed body.
And something unusual happened while the body was being taken to the burial ground. A relative from Dindigul identified the victim, much to the relief of Mr. Manoharan.
Aravakurichi police are all praise for Mr. Manoharan whose philanthropic act is lauded in Aravakurichi, Pallapatti, Chinnadharapuram, Esanatham and neighbouring areas in Karur district.
“If we come across unclaimed bodies, who die in natural circumstances, we immediately contact Mr. Manoharan and his friends for burial,” says M. Alaguram, Sub-Inspector of Police, Aravakurichi.
“Besides taking care of all expenses, they also take out the dead bodies in a procession and perform the customary last rites,”he adds.
Incidentally, Mr. Manoharan began his service 10 years ago, in deference to the request of a police officer for burial of an unknown body.
He initially limited his service just by contributing towards expenses for burial of the orphaned bodies. Later, he started performing the last rites too as a mark of respect to the dead persons.
Mr. Manoharan founded the Cauvery Trust a few years ago, taking on board 10 of his friends in Aravakurichi. The trust has so far performed burials to 52 persons. “Initially, an amount of ₹500 was spent for burying an unknown body. The expenditure has now risen ten-fold. The expenses are shared by the trust members,” the social activist says.
“No one should be denied a decent burial. We have no inhibition in performing the last rites for unknown persons. We perform it wholeheartedly,” Mr. Manoharan adds.
