Woman suffering from jaundice dies in a relief camp in Cachar, cremated 8km away

The recent floods in Silchar have been a devastating event for the people. People are still reeling from the after effects while some areas still remain heavily flooded. No one can forget the disturbing images of the floating corpses in the flood water. As burial and cremation grounds were inundated, people had no choice but to surrender the bodies of their loved ones to the flood waters.

A similar incident has happened in Borkhola’s Chutrasangan village. The village is still affected by the floods and the people have taken shelter at the Abdul Musabbir ME School relief camp which is in Borkhola. An elderly woman named Jayanti Das of Chutrasangan village was suffering from jaundice.

“We wanted to take her to hospital a few days ago, but we couldn’t because there was water everywhere in our village. We were able to see a doctor after coming here and he also prescribed medicines. We wanted to take her to the hospital this morning, but she passed away,” said her son.

She passed away on Tuesday, July 5, at the relief camp itself.

While this incident is tragic in itself, what made it truly heart wrenching is that Chutrasangan village is still under water. The cremation grounds remain totally inaccessible to the people. She was cremated at a crematorium which is eight kilometres away from her native place.

Due to the floods, people are already facing massive difficulties in accessing basic healthcare. For the people of Barak, there is no peace even in death. In a morbid coincidence, Chutrasangan is the same place where that famous picture of DC Keerthi Jalli walking in the mud was taken. She received great applause from national media and the image was often used to show what “true woman empowerment” is. However, hardly anyone questioned why it is still a Kuccha Road connecting the village.