Jamshedpur crematoriums break down as Covid-19 toll mounts

JAMSHEDPUR : Three furnaces at Subarnarekha Crematorium and another furnace in Parvati Ghat Crematorium in Jamshedpur developed snag due to continuous cremation even as the district Covid-19 toll mounted to 602 till Thursday night, officials said on Friday.

“Two out of four electric furnaces here have broken down with round-the-clock cremation of dead bodies for the past fortnight. The trolley of another furnace is also being repaired and we are managing with only the fourth furnace and the rest with wooden pyres. We currently have a stick of 70 tonnes wood,” C Ganesh Rao, joint secretary, Subarnarekha

Burning Ghat Crematorium Committee (SBGCC), said.

Jamshedpur officially reported 602 Covid-19 deaths till Thursday night, with 23 deaths, the highest ever in a day, reported by Wednesday night.

As per records, 65 bodies were cremated at SBG Crematorium till late Thursday night, of which 48 were cremated with Covid-19 protocol.

As many as 85 dead bodies were cremated on Wednesday, of which 52 were Covid-affected.

SBG Crematorium under Sitaramdera PS is the dedicated crematorium for cremating Covid-19-infected bodies.

The unusually excessive load on SBG Crematorium put the second crematorium in the city, Parvati Ghat under Bistupur police station area, under pressure, leaving one of its two electric furnaces out of order, officials said.

“One of the two furnaces is currently not working as its coil has burnt. We need to close down the furnaces for 5-6 hours after cremating 15-20 dead bodies, but we are not getting that much time to spare. On an average, 30-40 bodies are sent everyday,” Vinod Tiwari, Parvati Ghat Crematorium (PVC) manager, said.

Besides, PVC was not accepting bodies after 2pm due to over-booking.

The management has piled up over 50 tonnes wood as most of the 45 dead on Thursday were cremated on wooden pyres.