Special Correspondent
To renovate and beautify traditional cremation ground
LPG-fired furnace to reduction pollution
Project to cost Rs.52 lakh
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of the modernisation of the City Corporation’s crematorium at Thycaud, the Thottam unit of the SNDP Yogam has come forward to take up a project for renovation and beautification of its traditional burning ground at Kamaleswaram.
The SNDP unit has prepared a blueprint for the project to provide the 60-year-old cremation ground with an LPG-fired furnace, mortuary and landscaped grounds. Unit secretary K.C. Upendranath said the primary objective of the project was to address the pollution caused by the traditional burning method using coconut husk and timber.
The cremation ground handles, on an average, up to five bodies a day. Mr. Upendranath said the LPG furnace was preferred for its low-pollution, low-cost and time-saving features. “The single furnace in the first phase may be augmented with two more units in future,” he added. SNDP leaders finalised the project after inspecting the ongoing work at the City Corporation’s crematorium at Thycaud. The draft design was provided by the Kumar Group.
The SNDP is planning to mobilise bank loans and contributions to finance the Rs.52 lakh project which involves the construction of new buildings to house the furnace and an office and two service roads to access the facilities.
The furnace will be provided with pollution-control devices like scrubbers and particulate filters. The traditional burning ground will be retained and provided with refractory brick lining and chimneys.
The facilities on the 22-cent plot will be built as three separate modules linked by footpaths.
The design includes a tiled pavilion acting as a visual focus on the landscaped grounds. The paths linking the modules are to be paved with Himalayan stone and granite.
The main gate and boundary wall will be elevated. The SNDP has plans to acquire an adjacent plot to augment the facilities. The new unit will remain open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
City Corporation officials feel that the SNDP project is a desirable outcome of the modernisation of the Thycaud crematorium. They hope it would prompt more communities to come up with similar projects.
According to the City Development Plan (CDP) prepared by the Corporation for assistance from the Central Government under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the two public cremation grounds under the Corporation at Thycaud and Puthenkotta are inadequate.
