LUCKNOW, June 6 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed immediate repair and renovation of Pipra Ghat crematorium in Lucknow Cantonment after being told that stray animals were entering the premises and, in some cases, licking and scattering human remains left behind after cremations. The court also ordered authorities to ensure drinking water facilities and expedite the construction of a modern crematorium. Calling the issue "serious" and requiring "urgent remedial measures", the high court said the right to live with human dignity extends beyond death and every deceased person is entitled to a respectful funeral and cremation. A division bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary passed the order on June 3 on a public interest litigation petition filed by a local Shiv Gupta concerning the condition of the Pipra Ghat funeral ground. According to the petitioner, the crematorium lacks basic infrastructure, including a proper boundary wall, drinking water facilities and washrooms. The petitioner told the court that because the boundary wall is damaged and inadequate, stray monkeys, dogs and cows frequently enter the cremation ground and make the premises dirty. More disturbingly, it was alleged that after families leave the funeral ground while the funeral pyre is still burning, animals sometimes enter the area and lick or scatter human remains lying within the crematorium. The court observed that the issue raised was serious and warranted immediate intervention. The bench observed that the "right to live with human dignity extends beyond death", ensuring that every deceased individual is given a respectful funeral and due honour. The petitioner had sought directions for proper maintenance of the Pipra Ghat funeral ground. Counsel appearing for the Cantonment Board informed the court that a proposal for construction of a modern crematorium had already been sanctioned and that authorities were in the process of floating a tender. The bench directed the concerned authority to float the tender immediately, preferably within four weeks....