**Palakole (Andhra Pradesh):** In order to drive away fear among the construction workers engaged at a cremation site, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA from Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district braved mosquito bites and garbage stench to sleep in the crematorium in his Palakole town on Friday night.
Nimmala Rama Naidu, representing Palakole assembly constituency, had his dinner at the crematorium and slept on a folding cot. He went home in the morning only to return to the graveyard in the afternoon to oversee the construction works.He said that he will be sleeping at the same place for another two-three days.
According to him, the Hindu crematorium in the town remained neglected for decades. The workers were scared of entering the premises to take up construction and to instill confidence among the workers, Naidu decided to step in.
He alleged that the crematorium wasn’t maintained by the administrations and there were no proper facilities for cremation of dead bodies. The entire cremation ground becomes slushy during the rainy season and one cannot even step into the place. He added that there was no water facility for the people to take a bath after cremating the deceased.
The MLA has got Rs 3 crore sanctioned from the government eight months ago to construct a new crematorium in order to modernize the place. The plan was to develop a garden and construct new platforms for cremating the bodies.Bathrooms and other amenities required for the crematorium was also slated to be developed but no one came forward to work on this project.
After a lot of persuasion, Naidu found a contractor for the job. A few days later, the labourers denied to work in the place as they found it scary and ghostly. To dispel these superstitious beliefs, the MLA decided to chip in.
To begin with, he slept inside the crematorium premises on night. The other day, about 50 workers returned to work to resume the construction.Naidu is hopeful that more people would join in the next couple of days.
He told the media that though he had to face the mosquito bites and had to bear with foul smell from the dumping yard, it did not deter him from taking this brave and unconventional step.
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