For as long as they can remember, people from 52 villages in Murbad taluka have never had a crematorium. Due to this, they are compelled to perform the last rites of their loved ones in the open. The problem, they say, gets aggravated in the monsoon, when rain douses the half burnt bodies and they are forced to light the pyre all over again.

Residents of Fansoli village have been requesting for a crematorium since the last 15 years, but to no avail. To make their collective voice heard, the ex-sarpanch of the gram panchayat decided to forego wearing chappals till their demands were met by the Zilla Parishad. It has been 10 years that he has been walking barefoot. Ravindra Govinda Saraninge, gram panchayat member of the village, said, "When the government talks about development, they only have city dwellers in mind. What about us?