Hit by Tauktae, Bandra crematorium remained unrepaired as monsoon arrived

Just the thought of a crematorium with rain barrelling down on burning pyres is enough to send shivers down Mangesh Gosavirsquos spine Ever since Cyclone Tauktae damaged the roofs of the Hindu crematorium at Khar Danda on Carter Road in Bandra West disruption during peoplersquos last journey has become a common sight that he canrsquot escapeGosavi a death registration karkoon mdash someone who maintains the record of bodies brought to the crematorium mdash said he wrote to Sanjay Funde BMCrsquos medical officer of health on May 31 requesting him to get the roof fixed but the three pyres at the facility still remain exposed midday has a copy of the letterldquoThis is to inform you that a week ago the shed of Hindu Shmashan Bhumi at Khar Danda got blown off in the cyclone If it is not repaired before the monsoon it would be difficult to burn the bodies as the firewood will get wet on the pyresrdquo reads the letter to FundeldquoForget repair none of them even visited to conduct the survey to assess the level of damage in the cyclonerdquo Gosavi told middayRain disruption during funeral rites brings a lot of trauma for the kin of deceased said GosaviGosavi said he has to hold the funeral rites at all the pyres if it rains heavily ldquoI have no other option as the asbestos sheets above the cremation chambers were blown off by Tauktake If we allow last rites when it rains the firewood on the pyres will get wet and the burning of corpses will get unnecessarily delayedrdquo he lamentedSuch a situation brings unspeakable emotional trauma for the kin of a departed personThe dilapidated crematorium officeRohidas Chimbaikar lost his father on June 11 and he reached the crematorium in the evening ldquoIt was raining heavily and the firewood on the pyre got wet We had to struggle a lot to complete the ritualsrdquo said Chimbaikar adding ldquoA lot of people have been complaining regarding the blown off shed but the authorities are yet to actrdquoSources told midday that the situation becomes so messy at the crematorium on some rainy days that few families skip a part of the rituals as the ldquopressure from other families with corpses mountsrdquo The helpless and bereaved families carrying corpses have to mill around the premises to protect themselves when it rains they saidldquoThough we tell the families to take bodies to another crematorium in Shashtri Nagar Santacruz they prefer waiting here with the corpsesrdquo said Gosavi The facility is used by the residents of Ambedkar Nagar 14th Khar Road Mount Merry and Khar DandaGosavi said 54 Covid19 victims were cremated at the crematorium last month and their relatives had a tough time because of torrential rainsOn the alleged delay in fixing the roof Funde told midday ldquoThe Hindu Crematorium at Carter Road needs to undergo a thorough revamp For the maintenance I have written to the Health Infrastructure Cell and Building Maintenance department of BMC immediately after receiving a letter from DRK Gosavi But nothing has been done yetrdquoThe official added ldquoI will take a quick followup now and expedite the process to get it repaired within a week or sordquoThe roof apart the office of the crematorium is also dilapidated though it has got some temporary fix for the time being ldquoThere was leakage from the roof and the files and documents kept here got damaged As the rainwater dripped down the floor would get waterlogged Sometimes we would get an electric shock after touching the walls as the wiring was looserdquo said another employee at the crematoriumGosavi said ldquoA coat of asphalt was applied on the office roof a few days ago but we donrsquot know if it will stop the leakage as it has not rained heavily since thenrdquoMay 31When Gosavi wrote to officials requesting repairsFiftyfourNo of Covid19 victims who were cremated at the facility last month