The thought of going to a crematorium in the middle of the night is definitely a scary idea for some, but MLA Nimmala Rama Naidu from Andhra Pradesh does not feel the same. On Friday, the Telugu Desam Party MLA decided to sleep in a Hindu crematorium to drive away fear from the mind of construction workers, who were engaged in its modernisation.

Last year, the MLA had got Rs 3 crore sanctioned for a new crematorium after complaints from locals about the sorry state of the crematorium, but to his surprise, nobody was ready to work. Finally, two months ago a contractor agreed, but since then the modernisation work was going on at a snail’s pace. The issue is that the workers are scared to work on the ground as they think ‘spirits’ would haunt them.

This time Naidu went ahead to give a wake-up call to the workers and decided to sleep in the crematorium to prove that there are no evil forces to be frightened of.

“I am going to sleep in the same place for another two or three days. This is to instil confidence among the workers, who were otherwise scared of entering the premises to take up the construction,” Naidu said, reports Hindustan Times.

MLA Naidu, representing Palakollu assembly constituency, reached the crematorium with his dinner. After having his dinner, Naidu slept on a wooden cot braving the garbage stench, mosquito bites, and ‘spirits’. He went home the next morning only to return to the crematorium in the afternoon to oversee the modernisation work that is going on.

According to him, the crematorium in the town has been neglected for decades.

“There are no proper facilities for cremation of dead bodies. This cremation ground is slushy during the rainy season, and one cannot even step into the place. There is no water facility for the people to take a bath after cremating the deceased. Also, there is a huge garbage dumping yard just adjacent to it emanating stench,” he said.

Naidu claims that his idea of sleeping in the crematorium is working.

“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. Naidu hopes that more people would join in the next couple of days.

Sadly, MLA Naidu did face a little difficulty while sleeping in the cremation ground, “there were too many mosquitoes. And, of course, I had to bear with a foul smell from the dumping yard. I am getting a mosquito net for the cot tonight,” Said Naidu.

The Logical Indian appreciates the initiative shown by MLA Nimmala Rama Naidu.