Maha Sabha, CMO to meet on open-pyre cremations

Acting secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Vijay Maharaj and Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram are expected to meet this week to discuss open-pyre cremations for Hindus, especially those who die of covid19.

Maharaj told Sunday Newsday the virtual meeting is being planned for either Wednesday or Thursday at 1 pm."He (Parasram) has acknowledged that we should meet. It is just to clear the time table on both paths," he said. Last month, attorneys for the SDMS wrote to the CMO and Ministry of Health asking for a reversal of the policy banning open-pyre cremations.

In response, attorneys for the State said the ministry was working to review the restrictions and was getting views from various people on the issue.

Maharaj said there appears to be collusion between the regional health authorities and funeral homes, especially where the deceased of Hindu families are concerned.He said Hindus have certain rites and rituals that must be performed within 12 days.

"If you die of covid(19) or the death certificate says covid (19), the body automatically goes to a funeral home that the RHA would call and the funeral home will have, most likely, its crematorium.

"But the numbers we have already reached, 1,123 as of Friday, they would obviously be jam-packed. So the corpse would stay there for maybe a week or two and what it is doing is causing rental charges. The eye-gouging financially that is taking place is getting beyond acceptable."

Maharaj said some funeral homes hire their own pundit to do cremations.

"So that if I have pundit X and I want to take my pundit together with my three or four persons to do our service in the crematorium, we can't do it because they already have their own set up and we have to pay for that too."

Saying this situation cannot continue, Maharaj said he is hoping for a favourable outcome to the discussions with the CMO.Attorneys for the SDMS Dinesh Rambally, Stefan Ramkissoon and Kiel Tacklalsingh of Sovereign Chambers wrote to the CMO and the Minister of Health asking for a reversal of the policy banning open-pyre cremations.

The matter was set for November for trial, but attorneys for Cindy-Ann Ramsaroop-Persad have said they intend to appeal the judge’s refusal to grant an interim order so that she can cremate her father, Silochan, 77, in an open-pyre Hindu cremation.

Ramsaroop-Persad said it was her father's wish not to be cremated indoors.