Delayed payment of power bills: Last rites at Punjagutta in hyderabad crematoria affected

Punjagutta: Power cut has impacted the electric crematorium here for days, after authorities failed to clear electricity bills.

Following restoration, after being kept in a freezer room for four days, seven Covid-19 bodies were brought to the crematorium on Tuesday. Officials blamed the disturbance to high maintenance costs.

Abhilesh, a resident of Masab Tank, said: "my father succumbed due to Covid-19 at Gandhi Hospital.

During night hours the body was taken to Punjagutta crematorium in an ambulance. As only one member was allowed I was with the body, when we reached the crematorium workers there said we cannot do the rituals now as timings are 7 am to 6 pm.

So wait till next morning. He said my father's body was kept in freezer. Next morning I asked workers they said power supply was interrupted in the c crematorium. I was asked to wait.

After four days electricity was not restored. I had to take my father's body to S R Nagar for final rituals."

According to a worker, the Punjagutta crematorium was developed by the GHMC in 2018, as part of the modernisation of crematoria in the City.

But, for the past eight months, the crematoria were being used exclusively for the Covid-19 infected bodies to control the spread of pandemic.

Concerned by the development, local residents started protesting, as non-electric cremation would prove hazardous.

In a day around 12-14 cremations take place in Punjagutta crematorium, including a few of Covid-19 bodies.

For the past few days, Covid-19 bodies were piling up at the cremation ground, as power supply to the crematoria was cut, as the GHMC kept pending electric bills for at least four months.

With no option, some Covid-19-infected bodies were taken to SR Nagar and Banjara Hills cremation grounds. It was only on fifth day, power supply was restored after GHMC cleared the bills.

Furnaces remain non-functional owing to high maintenance cost.

On the condition of anonymity, an official blamed it to high maintenance cost. "The GHMC had installed electric furnaces long ago at Amberpet and Bansilalpet cremation grounds, while modern electric crematoria were launched at S R Nagar and Punjagutta graveyards about a decade ago.

A few of these remain non-functional for a long time now,"

However, a proposal passed three years back to privatise maintenance of these facilities has not taken off due to some unknown reasons.

The workers at the Punjagutta crematory are not the employees of the GHMC, they face difficulties to shift Covid-19 bodies, as they are not being provided with any of the protective gear like a face mask, gloves, and PPT kits.