At the Greater Chennai Corporation Velangadu burial ground, which was in the news for the burial of neurosurgeon Simon Hercules who died of COVID-19 a year ago, the number of bodies being cremated every day has risen steadily over the month. Sources say the trend is similar in the other major cremation/burial grounds in the city.
On Saturday, at least 16 bodies were cremated at the Velangadu crematorium, including those of four residents with COVID-19, by 8 p.m. Before the start of the second wave of the contagion in Chennai, the burial ground would register an average of seven cremations a day. On Saturday, residents could be seen waiting even after 8 p.m. to complete the cremation of their near and dear.
Velangadu, which used to operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with two bio-gas cremation furnaces, is now operating from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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Some public health officials have proposed to operate a crematorium at any time every day. Ayanavaram resident M. Selvan, whose 62-year-old father died at home because of a cardiopulmonary arrest on Saturday, said a doctor visited his home on Friday after his father’s condition deteriorated. He had not tested positive for COVID-19. It was learnt from relatives and records that at the Velangadu burial ground, at least two persons who were in home quarantine were cremated on Saturday.
The rise was quite dramatic, in a sense. After April 19, the number of cremations doubled to more than 14 a day, touching 18 on some days. After 6 p.m. on Saturday, the bodies of two COVID-19 patients were cremated, an unusual practice but it was done in order to help all those who had gathered.
The crematorium at Kasimedu has registered an increase in the number of cremations from five to 16 every day in the past two weeks.
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Members of the Balakrishnapuram Welfare Association complain that the ash from the chimney of the burial ground has been entering the houses nearby in Ward 163 of Adambakkam for the past few days as bodies are cremated all through the day.
“Residents have requested officials to take action. Furthermore, the authorities have not completed the literoof sheet covering on the compound wall at the south-west end of the crematorium. The work has been pending for more than a year,” says a resident.
Concerned at the health of those who are in home quarantine, the Corporation has directed 320 doctors to visit homes to check the health of residents who are supposed to isolate themselves.
Over 25,000 Chennai residents are in home quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, officials say.