Chandrapur: The grief of losing a loved one was compounded by a painful scramble for firewood at Kojbi Chak in Nagbhid taluka on Friday. As relatives prepared for the final rites of Yuvraj Meshram, they discovered that firewood needed for his cremation was simply not available.They searched locally and approached firewood depot at Talodhi (Balapur), but were told there was no stock. Efforts to arrange wood from elsewhere also failed.With the family left with nowhere else to turn, villagers brought in a JCB and dug a pit at the cremation ground. Meshram’s final rites were performed there, leaving those present visibly shaken and many in tears.The incident has raised questions about availability of basic facilities for dignified last rites in rural areas. For a family already confronting the loss of a loved one, absence of something as fundamental as firewood turned a moment of mourning into an ordeal.Villagers said Talodhi firewood depot has reportedly remained without cremation wood for nearly two months. They claimed repeated requests to forest department had failed to resolve the shortage.Residents said the problem extends beyond one family. Several cremation grounds in rural areas lack adequate, regular stocks of firewood, forcing bereaved families to make last-minute arrangements at a time when they are least equipped to deal with such difficulties.“This is deeply painful. Even the basic facilities needed for a person’s final journey are unavailable,” villagers said.boxForest department acknowledges shortageTalodhi (Balapur) forest range officer Tejas Suryawanshi confirmed that the depot had been without firewood since he took charge around a fortnight back. He claimed to have written to senior officers and sought for the stock of firewood. He also assured that measures would be taken to prevent such shortages in future.For Meshram’s family, however, the assurance came too late. What should have been a quiet farewell became a distressing reminder of how absence of a basic civic facility can deepen the burden of grief.
