Bengaluru: 9 new crematoriums to ease growing pressure

As the city continues to grapple with a surge in Covid-19 cases and fatalities, there has been an increasing pressure on the existing crematoriums. Relatives of patients who died due to Covid-19 have complained that they had to run around to look for crematoriums for the last rites.

In order to ease the burden on the existing crematoriums in the city, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagare Palike (BBMP) is all set to come up with nine new crematoriums.

The Karnataka revenue department has handed 25 acres of land for the crematoriums at four places across the city.

Out of nine crematoriums the BBMP has designated four for the Covid victims in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Yelahanka, Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli. With the addition of nine crematoriums, Bengaluru will have 21 funeral places.

The BBMP has fixed the electric crematorium's operation timings from 8 am to 9 pm. The BBMP commissioner has inspected the crematoriums in Padarayanapura and instructed the officials to complete the work by the first week of September. He inspected crematoriums in Medi Agrahara and Hebbal after complaints from several quarters of delay and demand of money from the staffers for cremation.

"Authorities have been instructed to speed up the funeral of those who died of Covid in electric crematoriums. An additional Rs 500 will be paid to the funeral staff at crematoriums. The Padarayanpura electric crematorium will be operational in the first week of September. In addition, nine new crematoriums will come up across various places," the BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said.

Last month, the civic agency announced a waiver of Rs 250 cremation fees, as well as Rs 500 incentive to the staff of the crematorium.

"Roughly 90 bodies are being cremated across the city out of which around 30 are Covid victims. This the reason four crematoriums will be reserved for them," Prasad added.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike had waived off crematorium charges for Covid-19 victims, there were several complaints in the past that crematoriums across Bengaluru are extracting money from the kin of those who succumbed to the deadly infection.

At Media Agrahara crematorium in Vidyaranyapura, for instance, some greedy people had forced a family to fork out more than Rs 5,000 towards ambulance charges, Rs 800 for the cremation and Rs 1,000 for two PPE suits.

The issue was also brought to the notice of BMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad who assured stringent action against those who violate the government orders. He said families need not pay anything towards cremation of their loved ones.