New Delhi: Even though Rs 3 crores were sanctioned last year for the uplift of the crematorium at Palakole in West Godavari District, the construction work was going on snail’s pace since the workers feared dead spirits at the construction site.
TDP MLA Nimmala Rama Naidu, representing Palakole Assembly constituency, protested against this delay in order to instill confidence among workers at the site he decided to sleep in the ‘Hindu Smasana Vatika’ crematorium, news 18 reported.
The MLA after finishing his dinner at the crematorium went to sleep on a folding cot. He went home the next morning and returned to check on the work at the graveyard in the afternoon.
“I am going to sleep in the same place for another two or three days. This is to instill confidence among the workers, who were otherwise scared of entering the premises to take up the construction,” MLA had told.
Before heading to sleep, MLA told the media and concerned officials were not taking the work seriously even though the transaction for the modernization of the crematorium was granted last year.
He also said the workers working at the graveyard were scared of the dead spirits haunting them since half burnt organs would surface as they did the soil.
It was after seeing there is no other way out of this fear instilled in the minds of workers, Naidu decided to spend his night alone at the crematorium.
“I slept in the premises the whole night. And the trick worked. On Saturday, about 50 workers returned to work to resume the construction,” he said.
He plans to continue sleeping at the crematorium for next couple of days but only wants to take a mosquito net since he complained of “too many mosquitoes”.