Mid-day impact: Bandra crematorium in Mumbai finally gets a new roof

New asbestos sheets being put up at the crematorium in Khar Danda, Bandra West. Pic/Shadab Khan

The BMC took cognisance of mid-day's front-page report about the problems faced by the Hindu crematorium at Khar Danda in Bandra West and fixed the missing roof this week. The crematorium was struggling to cremate bodies after cyclone Tauktae blew off the roof. A team of the BMC's maintenance department visited the site and finished the repair work after assessing the damage.

Last month, a total of 54 bodies were cremated and relatives of the deceased had a hard time, as rainwater pouring through the roof made the whole process difficult. An official from the crematorium said that till Wednesday this month, a total of 10 bodies have been cremated.

Damaged sheets replaced

Speaking to mid-day, Mangesh Gosavi, death registration official of the crematorium, said, "Thank you for publishing the story as the repair work has been done. The officials acted swiftly and junior engineers, seniors and other teams visited the crematorium on Monday and Tuesday."

Installation work of the crematorium roof will be completed today. Pic/Shadab Khan

"Asbestos sheets and other repair materials were brought on Tuesday and all the damaged sheets were replaced with the new ones on Wednesday," added Gosavi.

Work to be finished today

He further said that the repair work had to be halted towards the end as two bodies came in for cremation. "The asbestos sheets have been placed, only they need to be fixed properly and locked, which will be done on Thursday. Work had to be halted as two bodies were to be cremated," Gosavi said.

Action delayed

After the cyclone damaged the roof of the crematorium, Gosavi had written to the medical officer of health highlighting the damage and urgency to repair the same before the onset of monsoon but no action was taken.

Sub-engineer of maintenance department of MCGM, Dhammapal Waghmare, told mid-day that over two dozen asbestos sheets were either damaged or blown off by the cyclone.

Complete makeover?

"Temporary maintenance work has been done to repair the crematorium so that rainwater does not affect the cremations. Around 26 asbestos sheets were required for the repair work," said Waghmare, adding, "We received a letter after mid-day published the story, and so we acted swiftly and got the roof repaired." He further said that discussions were underway for a complete revamp of the crematorium at a likely cost of about Rs 25 lakh.

26
No. of asbestos sheets used to repair the roof