Repair has begun on one of the electric furnaces at the ‘Shanti Kavadam' electric crematorium of the city Corporation at Thycaud. Corporation officials said that the furnace, which had been out of order for more than a week, would be operational by Wednesday.
“We had to close down a furnace because of a technical snag. We had to wait for the Chennai-based contractors to arrive since they have the annual contract for repair and maintenance of the furnace. Now, repair works are on,” said crematorium supervisor Shibu Raj.
Shanti Kavadam, the city's only electric crematorium, has two electric furnaces besides four conventional wood pyres. Officials said that although the closing down of one of the furnaces had caused some inconvenience, it did not lead to any major crisis.
“Since there are four wooden pyres some bodies could be cremated there. We have four funeral bookings in waiting, all of which can be done today itself,” said a crematorium staff.
She added that on an average around five bodies are brought to the crematorium daily. It takes around one-and-a-half hours to cremate a body in the electric furnace whereas in the wooden pyre, it takes around four hours.
