She lends ‘honour’ to unclaimed bodies

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Neila, 50, has been doing yeoman service by burying unclaimed bodies from government hospitals for almost eight years.

In 2004, Neila, dejected and isolated over domestic problems, wanted to do good to society. “I read a news report in a vernacular daily about unclaimed bodies in government hospitals. I approached the officials and began burying unclaimed bodies,” says Neila, who resides at Nethaji Nagar in Tondiarpet.

“Usually women hesitate to step into a cemetery but on the first day when I buried an old woman’s body I felt this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Till then I had sleepless nights but that day I slept peacefully,” she adds.

Her neighbours and even her family members were surprised and shocked but she made it clear that she would continue her service.

A group of college students documented Neila’s life and when she played the video to her mother, she was proud of her daughter. “I started a trust ‘Utra Helping Organisation’ in 2005. I also help in burying bodies of underprivileged people,” says Neila.

Once, she got a call from the Government Stanley Hospital where a man did’t even have a rupee to cremate his wife’s dead body. “I took the body in an autorickshaw and came to know that the man had five children but none helped him to cremate the body,” says Neila, who spends around `1,000 from her own pocket to bury each body.

“My two children are well-settled and I don’t depend on my husband Jayaraman. My children help me,” says Neila who also organises awareness programmes on suicide prevention. She can be reached on 9444027146.