The piped natural gas (PNG) furnace at the Shivaji Park Hindu crematorium has been defunct for the past few days, pending repair work. As a result, the facility, where 100 to 120 bodies are cremated each month, is left with two electric furnaces and one open wood pyre. The staff at the crematorium said the electric furnaces require frequent repairs. “Mechanical problems occur, but the contractor responds quickly, and they are resolved in a day,” said Pratap Dethe, the caretaker at the crematorium. Another staff member noted that the PNG furnace has been in operation for the past couple of years since its announcement in 2016. “It is very easily damaged while taking out the ashes, and repair work takes a couple of days,” the staff member said.

While the crematorium manages with the electric furnaces when the gas furnace breaks down, there are times when it becomes a problem. “The time taken to cremate a body varies. It takes a couple of hours for bodies to turn to ash in the electric furnaces, but it may take more time depending on factors like the medical condition of the deceased or the size of the body. On such days, if even one furnace is dysfunctional, it is difficult to manage. It has not happened this time around,” a staff member said.