Now, crematoriums in Kerala feel heat of gas shortage
KOCHI: The shockwaves from the military conflagration in West Asia are beginning to pound Kerala. After threatening to cripple the hotel and restaurant industry, the shortage of commercial liquified petroleum gas (LPG), due to disruptions in supply chains as a direct result of the conflict, has now come to haunt crematoriums.
“We have enough gas to last maybe two days,” said a member of the Paramekkavu Devaswom, which manages the Puzhakkal Santhighat in Thrissur.
The facility, which sees about five funerals a day, had earlier planned to close on Thursday. “But we managed to get a one-time special delivery of 16 commercial cylinders from Bharat Gas. This is keeping us open for now,” the official said.
He pointed out that due to the shortage of gas and lack of wood-based cremation facilities in the city, families are being forced to go as far as Shornur. “Of course, this is not always feasible.”
The situation is no different in Ernakulam. The crematorium in Kadamakkudy, set up nearly two years ago and which caters to the needs of the nearby island clusters, “has only enough gas for three more last rites,” said local councillor Benjamin V A.
Interestingly, many of Kochi’s gas-based crematoriums are not functional, forcing them to fall back on wood-based services. “The Pachalam facility has been without the gas option for almost 5-6 years now,” said councillor Albert Ambalathingal.
The same is the case with the Ravipuram and Edakochi facilities.
The gas crematorium in Edakochi has also been rendered ineffective due to years of non-maintenance. Meanwhile, in Ravipuram, staff have been relying on wood-based cremations for a while now. “The other facilities are not working,” one of the employees said, adding, “It is becoming difficult to procure firewood now as there’s been a surge in demand.”
Indeed, March has a plethora of ‘big, open kitchen’ events -- St Joseph’s feast day in churches, iftar parties, and temple festivals. “All of this requires firewood. So, if demand continues to rise, cremations will be affected,” she added.
This demand for firewood is yet to affect the facility in Tripunithura, where wood-based cremations continue unhindered. “The crematorium here is not impacted by the LPG crisis. We use only firewood,” municipal chairperson P L Babu said.
However, an overreliance on any single option may prove to be problematic, as was case at a city crematorium recently.
“The power supply to our electric facility was cut halfway through a cremation process. This caused much anguish and sorrow to the family of the deceased. Thankfully, panchayat members intervened and procured cylinders on an urgent basis. Thankfully, we were able to continue the work,” a staff member said on condition of anonymity.
In Kozhikode, the corporation’s crematorium has had to decline bookings after it ran out of gas. “There have been many calls, but unless we get gas supply, we cannot accommodate any more services,” said a corporation worker.
In Thiruvananthapuram, however, the Santhi Kavadam’s furnaces are operating without problems. “We have both gas and electric cremation services available here. We have not faced heat from the LPG shortage as yet, primarily on account of there being an electric option to lean on,” said a staff member.
Ironically, what has proved to be a saving grace for much of Kerala is the fact that though administrators had pressed for crematoriums to be converted from traditional firewood-based services to modern (gas or electric) ones, the adoption process has been extremely slow.
Of the 653 functional crematoriums in the state, only 124 use gas or electricity, with the rest still employing conventional firewood.
But using firewood is not always feasible in urban spaces, notes a crematorium staffer. “It results in a lot of pollution. Besides, there’s always a plethora of certifications to tend to, meaning a modern unit cannot immediately switch to firewood-based services in view of the LPG shortage,” he said.