A steady stream of mourners walk into Thathaneri cremation ground on a Thursday afternoon to perform the last rites of their relative. A worker there says it has been a busy day and there was no time to even take a wink.
“We have no choice but to stay put here and eat near the smoke from the bodies day and night. People from our caste are destined to this work as we know nothing else,” he says, bemoaning the fate of their lot. There are about 30 workers at the cremation ground. They work amid squalor and stench. Empty liquor bottles, shards of glass, remains of the waste left behind by mourners and wild growth of bushes are their permanent companions. Though there were clean-up drives now and then, the Thathaneri cremation ground always presents a picture of neglect.
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This vast premises houses an electric crematorium, a traditional burning area and a huge burial ground. According to social worker V. P. Manigandan, who helps in the last rites of abandoned elders, there must be at least two more electric crematoriums to avoid long waiting time.
Another volunteer Ela Amudhan says there is a 45-minute wait to even collect the ash. This too can be avoided if there are more electric crematoriums. Mr. Manigandan says there must be more mandapams
Both call for better maintenance of the place. Mr. Manigandan says, “Under the cover of wild growth of bushes inside the burial ground complex, people drink and make nuisance. People also use this place for relieving themselves,” he says. If there is a pay-and-use toilet facility instead of the ill-maintained toilet - each for women and men - and a common e-toilet, open defecation can be prevented, he says.
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Mr. Amudhan says there must be stretchers to keep the bodies awaiting cremation as they are left lying on the ground. It is inconsiderate to treat people like this when they are dead,” he says. Moreover, during power shutdown, people coming to use the electric crematorium are caught unawares. There must be a power generator as a standby,” he says.
Mr. Manigandan says if a pathway, a garden and fencing are provided, the entire area will become a better place.
A biogas plant with a capacity to treat five tonnes of garbage a day to generate 300 cubic metre of gas lies unused at the crematorium. Workers say it was established in May last year.
Staff predicament
Thathaneri is one of the very few cremation grounds in the State which functions throughout day and night all through the year. A man, who has been working here since he was a child, says, “We have to bear all sorts of insults when the relatives of the dead get drunk and abuse us for no reason. Sometimes they even beat us up. If there are guards or police around, there will be sense of security and we can go about our work in peace,” he says.
Some communities prefer doing the rituals only at night. so the place needs better lighting. Since this is a vast area, high mast lights will be ideal. It will also prevent access to miscreants, he says.
Another worker says they have no room to have food or change clothes. Last year the Corporation allotted funds to build a room for workers but the plan never materialised, he adds.
Mr. Manigandan says there must be a clerk present at the crematorium round-the-clock to give receipts. “Since it functions day and night and receipts are issued only from 9 a.m to 5 p.m., relatives of the dead from distant places have to make another trip to get it,” he says.
What officials say
A health official claims the biogas plant is functional and vegetable waste is received on different days of the week. The wild growth of bushes will be cleared using earthmovers and the toilets maintained in a better way.
Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan says he will visit the crematorium and set right the deficiencies.