Lack of space forces Kalyan locals to wait for 15-20 hours for kin’s cremation

Residents of Kalyan-Dombivli have to wait for 15 to 20 hours for cremation of their loved ones due to lack of space to accommodate the increasing number of Covid-19

Residents of Kalyan-Dombivli have to wait for 15 to 20 hours for cremation of their loved ones due to lack of space to accommodate the increasing number of Covid-19 fatalities in the city. While there are five crematoriums in the city, the civic authority has claimed that some of the machines are prone to regular damage due to the burning of the plastic, in which bodies of Covid patients are wrapped. This, they claimed, has also increased the process of cremation from one hour to two hours for each body, which in turn results in the long wait.

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Authorities said they are looking for alternative cremation techniques.

Recently, most residents who lost their loved ones to Covid-19 or other ailments have complained of long waiting hours for cremation.

Mayuresh Kene, a 38-year-old Kalyan resident, had to wait for almost eight hours to cremate his friend’s body on Monday. He said, “My friend was declared dead around 2pm, and he was not Covid positive. However, a crematorium in Kalyan said their machines were not working and asked me to visit Dombivli. I went to two other crematoriums, but those had no space to accommodate my friend and I wsa asked to wait till the next day. Finally, I went to the crematorium near Shani Mandir and cremated my friend at 11pm.”

There are five crematoriums in the twin cities in Shiv Mandir, Bailbajar and Lalchowki in Kalyan (West); Vitthalwadi; and Patharli in Dombivli (East).

Rajat Rajan, 39, a social worker from Dombivli, visited a crematorium where the body he had was the 18th one of the day. He said, “There was only one person who cremated all 17 bodies in a day. We were told that bodies of Covid positive patients take more time to burn due to the plastic and that there was a lengthy cleaning process of the machine. Moreover, some of the crematoriums are defunct, thus adding pressure on the ones that are functional.”

KDMC engineer Sapna Koli said, “It is true that the machines are giving us problem due to burning of plastic, however, we have to follow ICMR guidelines. Around 20 bodies are cremated each day. The process, which used to take one hour, now takes over two hours and the machines also get damaged regularly and need a lot of maintenance. Most of our employees, too, have tested positive. So, we are short-staffed which is further adding to the delay.”

She added that they have started regular servicing of the machines and are also working on alternative methods. “Before Covid, we used to service the machines once in a while. However, with the increasing load, we have started regular servicing to ensure all machines are working. Our engineers are also looking for better technologies used in other cities to find a solution for the problem.”