A group of Muslim families in Basirhat have come together to donate a 600-metre stretch of land to make a recently-constructed local crematorium — which had been without a proper approach road — more accessible.

Asanullah Mondal, Majed Ali and Nasiruddin Mondal have donated approximately 600 metres of land from their agricultural plots to facilitate a required 800-meter stretch of the approach road. The remaining stretch of the land was donated by other families in the area to enable Kholapota gram panchayat authorities to take up the construction of the approach road at the Bhadrakali ghat on the banks of the Ichhamati river in Mathurapur village under Basirhat 2 block.

The crematorium is slated to be inaugurated on May 29.

Aparesh Mukherjee, chief of Kholapota gram panchayat, told The Telegraph: “It is a great gesture, without which the crematorium would not have been made active.”

For several residents of Basirhat 2 block, a formal crematorium was reportedly a longstanding demand. With the nearest crematorium located in Baduria, about 25km away, residents of Kholapota, Mathurapur, Govindapur, and adjacent areas used to perform the last rites of their nearest ones on isolated parcel of land on the bank of the Ichhamati.

“Many people in the area are not financially able to go to a crematorium ghat in Baduria or Swarupnagar or to Basirhat owing to geographical distance. So they were earlier compelled to carry out the last rites in an unauthorized manner and unconcerned about obtaining the burning ghat certificate,” Prakash Roy, a local resident, said.

“In light of this problem, the local gram panchayat authority constructed a crematorium. But it could not be made operative since there was no approach road. The burning ghat on the bank of the river became an isolated area in absence of the road. So despite completion of the work, the ghat could be made operative”, Roy added.

Since all the adjacent lands to the crematorium ghat are agricultural land, the panchayat authorities a few months ago appealed to the landowners for help by sharing parts of their land to create an approach road.

“Eventually, the situation came to such a stage when we realised that the major part of the proposed stretch of road has gone through the lands owned by Muslim families. So we were a little apprehensive as to whether they would be willing to share land for a crematorium for different communities”, panchayat pradhan Aparesh Mukherjee said.

“But the members of these three Muslim families proved our apprehensions wrong. They instantly agreed to share the land absolutely free of cost. It is for their benevolent approach that the crematorium becomes accessible eventually. We will now open it for use from next Sunday”, Mukherjee added.

Asanullah Mondal, one of the land donors said, “We donated land for a great social cause. There is no question of any political prejudice. We would do the same for any community to keep our area clean enough. The random disposal of bodies and last rites became an unhealthy affair. So making the crematorium operative was a big necessity. Thus we donated the land”.