Udupi Municipal Council gets hearse of Rs20 lakh

Udupi: G Shankar Family Trust has donated a hearse valued at Rs 20 lakh to Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC). This is the first such hearse in Udupi.
The CMC will provide the hearse free of cost to the poor to transport bodies.
The hearse is now kept at 'Hindu Rudraboomi' at Indrali. It will be handed to Indrali Rudra Bhoomi on Sunday and from Monday, the public may use it as per their requirement.People from across the district, including those from Udupi, Malpe, Udyavara and Brahmavara, can make use of it. To maintain the hearse and the time schedule, a committee under the chairmanship of CMC president and locals as members has been formed .
Meenakshi Bannanje, CMC president, said, "Though Udupi is a temple town, we have space for all religions and equally respect their believes. Customised demands as per their culture would be fulfilled while carrying the body in the van."
It has three MP3 systems that render Hindu mantras, verses from the Bible and the Quran depending on the faith of the dead person . "Most of the times, the poor do not have money to carry bodies to crematoriums or burial grounds," she added.
Bhandarkar, CMC member, said, "The van could carry about 20 people along with the body. " G Shankar, chairperson of the trust, said, "Inspired by a similar system at Vijayapura, I decided to have one in Udupi."