Mumbai: Where even the dead are given the runaround

The electric crematorium at Vazira in Borivli has no signboards leading to its location a missing main entrance board and lack of lighting which have been causing major hassles to the families of the deceased To make matters worse the main gate leading to the crematorium is closed in the evening and vehicles are parked at the spot blocking the entranceLaxman Vaity a Vazira Koliwada resident told midday ldquoEvery other day we see families driving around the area to locate the crematorium A few days back we saw an ambulance unloading a body at the gate of the crematorium but they could not enter as there was a vehicle parked outside the gate There was no way for the ambulance or the family members of the deceased to enterrdquoThere are no signboards along the road leading to Vazira electric crematorium PisNimesh DaveA local resident requesting anonymity said ldquoThe other day I was seated inside a cafe opposite the crematorium A family was seen driving around trying to locate it After two rounds one of them came near the cafe asking for its location Even the locals seated outside the cafe werenrsquot aware of it Luckily I was around and guided them to the entrancerdquoHe added ldquoThere are many ongoing redevelopment projects in the locality My question is very clear is the BMC deliberately not installing a board at the entrance of the crematorium as it will hamper the real estate rates in the area Generally there is a signboard at the entrance of any government building or office but this crematorium has nonerdquoAnother resident alleged that when he enquired about the missing signboards and entrance board the contractors and management told him that even they were fed up with asking the ward office to install themRecalling the ordeal he said ldquoMy father passed away a few months back I live in Chikuwadi and the nearest known crematorium is at Babhai which has been shut for maintenance for almost eight months now At the time I wasnrsquot aware of it being shut and we found out after reaching there We were told there is an electric crematorium nearby The death registration officer told us the route and we left We searched for almost 20 minutes but could not locate it Finally we decided to go to the crematorium at KandivlirdquoAccording to the man they had passed by the electric crematorium twice but could not locate it due to signboards and the main entrance board not being installedGopal Shetty former member of Parliament from the Mumbai North Parliamentary constituency told midday ldquoI am aware that the traditional crematorium at Babhai is closed for maintenance and hence the electric crematorium is the only option in the locality But I was not aware of this signboard issue or that vehicles are being parked blocking the entrance I will personally look into the matter and make sure that the issue is resolvedrdquoSandhya Nandedkar assistant municipal commissioner R Central ward told midday ldquoI was unaware of the missing signboards and entrance board Since it has been brought to my notice I will look into the matter and install the required signboards as soon as possiblerdquo08No of months other facility in area has been shutlsquoReopen Bahbai crematoriumrsquoResidents of the small Vazira Koliwada village in Borivli which is located close to both the crematoriums have written to the ward office asking them to reopen the Bahbai traditional crematorium at the earliest as the electric method is not accepted by many localsBahbai traditional crematorium is currently shut for maintenanceThe letter received by the assistant commissioner of R Central ward on December 4 2023 reads ldquoThe Hindu Crematorium at Babhai was closed down for maintenance abruptly without prior intimation As an alternative we are being forced to use the electric crematorium Unfortunately the last rites cannot be performed at the electric crematorium according to our tradition Our locality is clearly against using the electric crematorium Before the issue turns into a broader one we urge the ward office to reopen the traditional crematorium and carry out the repair work in phasesrdquoSandhya Nandedkar AMC R Central ward told midday ldquoThe repair work is not initiated by the ward office and comes under the Health and Infrastructure Cell HIC We are continuously following up with them to know about the work progressrdquoMeanwhile Ravindra Ghule deputy chief engineer HIC told midday ldquoThe repair work of crematoriums is being handed over to the building maintenance BM department Our department is only handling the repair works of crematoriums undertaken before the handoverrdquoWhen midday contacted Yatin Dalvi chief engineer BM department he said he was on leave and currently out of town Sanjaykumar Pandav deputy chief engineer suburbs BM department guided this reporter to Sinkar another official of the BM department who did not respond to calls and text messages till the time of going to pressThis story has been sourced from a 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