Cyclone damages LPG-run furnace at Khannagar crematorium

Surjit Kumar Dhal,Cuttack, May 19: The extremely severe cyclone Fani has caused extensive damage to the LPG-run furnace system at Khannagar Crematorium.

                The gusty winds of the cyclone has broken a 30-meter high chimney which has fallen on the roof and caused cracks on the walls of the building housing the system inside the crematorium. Water tank and shutter of the building have also been broken.

                Heavy rain accompanied with high velocity wind has also damaged two sensors of the LPG-run furnace system which has been remained shut since May 3.

                As a result, people belonging to low income group are facing difficulties in respect of cremating dead body at the crematorium.

                Especially, the volunteers of different social organizations have been facing a lot of problem for cremating unclaimed dead bodies at the crematorium due to high cost of wood.

       One has to spend around Rs 4000 for firewood to cremate a body, said a member of a voluntary organization.

According to sources, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation(CMC) had introduced the electric furnace at Khannagar crematorium in 1985. Besides being expensive for the civic body due to electricity bill payment, people had to face lot of problems as most of the time it remained out of order.

However, the civic body converted the three decade-old electric unit at the crematorium into LPG-run on January 20, 2017 at a cost of Rs 15 lakh to save the environment from pollution and also make cremation cost effective.

But, soon after its inauguration, locals started complaining about heavy smoke and foul smell coming from chimney when bodies were being cremated following which the civic body had to rectify the technical problem by heightening its chimney.

The LPG furnace system charges Rs.250 for adult and Rs.50  for children below 12-year-old, the ration card holders under National Food Security Act(NFSA) and also the unclaimed dead bodies brought by police are availing the facility free of cost.

Efforts are on to call technicians from Kolkata to restore the defunct LPG-run furnace system as soon as possible, said  CMC Commissioner Sarat Chandra Nayak.