The Hindu 21.12.2009
Corporation gets its act together on crematoria
Staff Reporter
| Monitoring committees formed |
KOCHI: Crematoria in the city will be managed and maintained by monitoring committees which will be formed exclusively for this purpose. The Town Planning Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation is working on such a proposal as several complaints have been raised regarding the management of the crematoria in the city.
The corporation has been operating eight crematoria in the city including the ones at Pachalam, Pullepady, Ravipuram, Fort Kochi, Palluruthy and Mattanchery. Many of the centres are in a bad shape and there are complaints regarding the poor facilities for performing the last rites. The corporation decision to bring crematoria under the supervision of the committees comes in the wake of public demand for improving the facilities.
The Better Kochi Response Group had recently made a presentation in the corporation council regarding the renovation and management of the Ravipuram crematorium before civic authorities and representatives of various Hindu communities.
“A monitoring committee headed by T.K. Padmanabhan Master, the local councillor, has been managing the affairs of the Ravipuram crematorium in an effective way. This has prompted the civic authorities to consider extending the system to other centres too, said E.M. Sunilkumar, Chairman of the Town Planning Committee.
Various religious groups have also offered support to the corporation in this regard, he said. A meeting of the committee to be held on December 22 will consider the proposal. A draft by-law for the formation of the committees will also be considered at the meeting. Once the committee clears the proposal, it will be placed before the Kochi corporation council for approval, he said.
According to the proposal, the monitoring committee will be headed by the local councillor and the councillors of the adjacent divisions will be its members. The representatives of various political parties, social organisations and religious groups will also be made its members. The development and maintenance of the crematoriums will be implemented by the civic body using its own funds. The supervision of such works will be the responsibility of the committees, he said.
The corporation is also considering a proposal to channel the funds and support offered by various private agencies for the crematoriums though the committees.
The agencies can sponsor the works through the committees. It will also look into the complaints regarding the functioning of the crematoriums, he said.
