The Chennai Corporation on Tuesday suspended a supervisor and transferred two assistants of the Besant Nagar burial ground for demanding money from people for delivery of services.
This was announced by Mayor M. Subramanian during his visit to the burial ground to review the renovation work there. “People should avoid giving money to employees at burial grounds. The services at burial grounds of the Chennai Corporation are given free of cost,” he added.
The civic body would renovate 10 burial grounds in the city in the first phase. Work on the burial grounds in Besant Nagar and G.K.M.Colony would be completed in four months and entail a total expenditure of Rs.3 crore. The other burial grounds to be renovated are those in Kannamapet, Jafferkhanpet, Kasimedu, Moolakothalam, Vyasarpadi, Otteri, Velangadu and Krishnampet, he said, adding that those seeking to book the facilities need to call the Corporation's 1913 helpline.
Corporation officials said that efforts were on to improve the behaviour of the staff at the burial grounds as complaints continued pouring in. “We will be making efforts to manage the developed infrastructure properly,” a senior official said.
Over 20 memorials on the Besant Nagar burial ground were removed to facilitate the renovation work.
As some people made representations to Mr.Subramanian on the demolition of such memorials, he assured them that the memorials which have received approval from the civic body after 1996 would be given alternative sites on the burial ground.
“We have constructed the memorials after obtaining permission from the Corporation in the 1980s. We want the Corporation to take a remedial measure,” said Ravi, a resident of the locality.
