New crematorium opened at Kommaghatta

The crematorium has been constructed on 1.26 acres of land at a cost of Rs. 4.84 crore. File photo

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) new, eco-friendly crematorium at Kommaghatta was inaugurated on Monday by Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana and S.T. Somashekhar, MLA.

Mr. Sathyanarayana said the crematorium would benefit residents of Kengeri, Kengeri Satellite Town, Ullalu, Hemmigepura, Jnana Bharathi, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Ramohalli, Soolibele and surrounding areas. Earlier, people were forced to take bodies of their relatives to the crematoria in Sumanahalli or Chamarajpet.

Allaying fears of local people, he said the state-of-the-art crematorium would ensure that even ash is not let out. There would be no smell either.

According to officials, the crematorium has been constructed on 1.26 acres of land at a cost of Rs. 4.84 crore. It has changing rooms, toilets, bathrooms and makes use of rainwater harvesting.

It takes around one-and-half-hours to completely cremate a body. The crematorium will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Hindu had reported in September 2013 about how the crematorium was ready but was caught in red tape for more than 10 months. Though it had not been opened, the BBMP was paying Rs. 20,000 a month towards electricity charges. It was following the report that Mr. Sathyanarayana inspected the crematorium and finalised a date for its inauguration.