Sumanahalli Crematorium
If you are preparing to lay a dead body to rest in Bengaluru, it is now mandatory to carry an Aadhaar card. As per a recent report, BBMP staff have been insisting on seeing the deceased’s Aadhaar card to ensure the identity of the departed. A case in point is that of a 75-year-old aunt, whose body was taken to Sumanahalli crematorium on the Outer Ring Road.
The cremation process at sumanahalli crematorium in Chennai starts at 10 am. The body is sent to the crematorium by the doctors, who begin working at around that time. The entire process starts at this time and lasts until midnight. While this is an acceptable deadline for cremation, doctors often feel pressured to finish the paperwork at their hospitals. And that’s without even considering the pressure from other quarters.
According to the BBMP, the Sumanahalli crematorium will be shut from 8 am to 8 pm from May 10 due to the heavy load of COVID-19 bodies. But this is not the first crematorium to break down. Several other crematoriums have reported furnace problems in the past two weeks and have been unable to take the load of bodies. With the new open crematoria, the city hopes to reduce the death toll.
Bengaluru’s Sumanahalli Crematorium
The city recently opened an animal crematorium. The facility houses two incinerators – one for small animals and another for large animals. A crematorium for animals must be easily accessible and affordable for people in the area. City Mayor Sampath Raj has promised suitable measures to handle animal deaths. The animal crematorium at Sumanahalli is located in the CBD near the KSRTC depot. The cremation service in Bengaluru CBD is available at least seven days a week.
Moreover, families can book slots for cremation online. Online booking for crematorium slots has been made possible by the BBMP. The process is less expensive than a traditional burial and is environmentally friendly. For those who prefer a more personal approach, cremation is the better option. BBMP also allows mourners to book a slot in advance. If the deceased was cremated, the coffin will be placed on a high-raised decorated platform and exposed to temperatures of about 800 to 1000 degrees.
The Covid outbreak has shifted the focus on crematorium management in Bengaluru. Between April 18 and 22 alone, eight60 bodies were cremated in six facilities in the city. The BBMP has temporarily closed some crematoriums to repair their furnaces and restart the traditional open-air crematoriums to handle deaths. The BBMP has set up a dashboard called the War Room to manage the situation.