The renovated crematorium in Srirangam zone of Tiruchi Corporation is being utilised to cremate COVID-19 victims.
The crematorium in Ambedkar Nagar, which lay idle for several years, was renovated under the civic body’s general fund and thrown open to public use since Saturday.
The building itself was constructed in 2016 and lay in disuse. It was recently renovated keeping in mind the increasing number of bodies due to the pandemic.
Speaking to The Hindu , an official of the civic body in charge of the crematorium said there were two burners, each of which could cremate about five bodies a day.
The gasifier crematorium was being used to cremate bodies not infected by COVID-19, but with Oyyamari crematorium being pushed to its capacity, bodies were being diverted to the other two crematoriums in the city. The Srirangam crematorium, the newest of the lot, was also pressed into service.
“We cremate around eight to ten bodies a day now. Most of them are COVID-19 patients,” an employee told The Hindu .
Tiruchi Corporation faced stiff opposition from residents of Karumandapam over cremation of COVID-19 patients in the crematorium in their area and, therefore, not too many bodies were diverted there.
At least 10 bodies were cremated in the four crematoriums in the city, many of which were COVID-19 cases.
A senior official of the civic body said that at least 50% of them were people from other districts. “Families are not allowed to take the bodies to their hometowns if the patient died of COVID-19. Therefore, they cremate the body here itself.”
