CHENNAI: For the past eight decades, the cremation ground alongside Cooum River, one of the two crematoriums in Nerkundram, has been functioning without basic amenities. While a single streetlight caters to the entire stretch, the narrow approach road is in poor shape and the ground has no compound wall. Barring a sheltered cremation platform, there is nothing to suggest that the crematorium is regularly used.
This ground on PH Road near Cooum has been a final resting place for departed souls since the time Nerkundram was controlled by a panchayat administration. Due to its poor condition, residents have to carry the bodies through a damaged approach road, navigating through droves of pigs. As a result, the number of people using the facility has been on a gradual decline. Hence, the residents have been demanding proper maintenance of the crematorium.
The alternative burial ground in Valliammai Nagar, located a kilometre away, also lacks a cremation platform for the last many years. The authorities had dismantled the platform as it was located within a residential area. Further, 13 cents of the ground was handed over to the Chennai Metro Water and Sewerage Board for constructing a pumping station. So, without a crematorium platform, the ground is solely used for burials now
Since both areas lack a proper cremation platform and basic amenities, residents from areas near PH Road like Pallavan Nagar, Selliamman Kovil Street, and other areas are forced to depend on Virugambakkam or Arumbakkam burial grounds for most cremations, which are at least 4-5 km, said residents.
The gravedigger in charge of both the burial grounds said if the facility near the Cooum River is maintained properly with appropriate facilities, it would be a huge relief to the residents. M Hari Kumar (45), a resident, said, “Whenever it rains, the PH Road burial ground area gets inundated, making it difficult to walk through. There is no water supply, and it also doesn’t have a toilet or a compound wall. We need the civic body to take immediate action towards its maintenance.”
Speaking to TNIE, Ward 145 Councillor T Sathyanathan stated, “I have raised this issue multiple times in council meetings. Despite the PH Road burial ground being in use for decades, the civic body has not taken appropriate measures. While they are willing to provide water and toilet facilities for the Valliammai Nagar burial ground, which now has a proper compound wall, no action has been taken for the PH Road ground. After multiple requests to corporation officials, one streetlight was installed in the area. The poor road condition and other monsoon risks remain unaddressed.”
A corporation official told TNIE that the land used for cremations along the Cooum appears to belong to the Water Resources Department. “We have written to the revenue department seeking some clarifications and will initiate action as soon as we get a response,” the official said.
