CHENNAI: With electric crematoria in the city being closed down for maintenance every now and then, Greater Chennai Corporation is set to convert Kannamapet crematorium at T Nagar, a gas-powered one.
The renovation of the crematorium is to be taken up at a cost of approximately Rs 3 crore using Smart City funds, under which landscaping is also included.
“If the coils are damaged in electric crematoria, it takes some time for it to be replaced and to get it functioning again. In that sense, these gas operated crematoria are easier to maintain and the energy consumption is also low,” said a corporation official. As recently as last week, the electric crematorium at Porur was closed down for two days for maintenance works. Currently, there are three units within Kannamapet burial ground, one of which is maintained by the Jain community. Among the remaining two units that are maintained by the city corporation, one is non functional.
The unit that is not functional now will be divided into two, having a furnace each, and would be powered by Liquefied Petroleum Gas. The crematorium is also to have a renovated space for performing the final rites in the place of the building that is now being used, said corporation officials. “While retaining the structures that are usable, parts that are dilapidated will be demolished and rebuilt,” officials said.
The maintenance of the crematorium is to be taken up by Coimbatore-based Isha Foundation, which recently took up the maintenance of Besant Nagar crematorium. “The aim is to not only to modernise the crematorium, but to also give a dignified farewell to the departed,” said a Smart City official.