Four members of a Gujarati family from Mehsana who drowned in the St Lawrence river last month while attempting to enter the US from Canada were cremated in Toronto. Two members of their family who reside in Alabama, United States, attended the funeral.
The bodies of Pravin Chaudhary, 50, and his children Vidhi, 23, and Mitkumar, 20, were recovered on March 29, hours after their boat capsized. The body of Chaudhary’s wife Daksha was recovered downstream later, said members of the Gujarati community in Toronto.
“Pravin Chaudhary’s cousin Kanta Chaudhary, who lives in Alabama, had attended the funeral with her daughter Monali. They were the only two members of the Chaudhary family to have attended the service. The family members back in India had reportedly requested the Indian consulate to perform the last rites in Canada as they did not have the means to bring the bodies back home,” said a prominent member of the local Gujarati community in Toronto.
According to reports, the consulate hired an NGO that works with the Indian community to perform the funeral ceremonies. A representative of Lotus Funeral and Cremation Centre confirmed the cremation. Humans for Harmony, an Ontario-based NGO working with the Indian community, facilitated the last rites. It is likely that the mortal remains will be sent to the family in Mehsana. Don Patel, the president of Humans for Harmony, said, “We want to pass on a message that the people should not take wrong procedure to reach Canada or the US. We should try to prevent illegal crossing, so that no such untoward incident takes place. ”
