Residents of the Chah Pokhar village are living with dead. Here's why

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In what can be called as a bizarre incident, families living in Chah Pokhar in Achnera block of Agra are forced to turn their houses into a graveyard due to lack of burial ground. They have been burying their dead ones in their homes and it has become part of their day to day life.

According to the Times of India, most of the Muslim families living in the village are poor and landless. Men in their families work as contract labourers. The desperate residents of the village have been demanding for a graveyard for years, but their demands were ignored by the authorities.

Reportedly, some years ago, the administration had allotted a plot for a graveyard which now it falls right in the middle of a pond. Villagers had complained multiple times regarding their ordeal but the administration had categorically ignored their demands.

Families in the village had cemented cemented to ensure they occupy less space and stones of different sizes kept over them are the only way to tell them apart. The villagers even held some protest in the past citing the issue.

In 2017, after the death of resident Mangal Khan, his family refused to bury his body until land for a graveyard was provided in the village. Only after assurance by the authorities, the family buried the body of Khan near the pond. However, the administration is yet to implement on their promise.

"All we are asking for is some land for our ancestors. There is a cremation ground for the Hindus in the periphery of the village, but we are living with our dead," said Munim Khan, a factory worker.

Also Read: These humans of Mumbai graveyard shift fight thieves, laugh off horror stories

Sundar Kumar, the village's Pradhan, had asked officials several times for a burial ground for Muslim families, but no action was taken by the authorities.

The district magistrate Ravi Kumar NG claimed that he wasn't aware of the issue. He said, "I will send an official team to the village and get details of the burial land required."

Also Read: Father takes terminally-ill toddler everyday to grave he has dug for her

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