Forced to cremate my mother by flashlight: Nalasopara resident

Relatives perform last rites of the deceased in mobile phone’s flashlight. Pic/ Hanif Patel

A Nalasopara resident recently conducted the last rites of his mother in the flashlight of mobile phones, thanks to the dysfunctional power back-up at a VVCMC-run crematorium ground. A local journalist's mother, 92, had died last week, and her body was taken to Samelpada crematorium ground in the evening. "As we rested the body of my mother, Nirmala Mane, on the pyre, the electricity went out. We thought there was a power back-up, but the crematorium had neither a generator nor an inverter," Ravindra Mane told mid-day.

"It wasn't possible to wait for the restoration of power, as we had to complete the rites soon. My relatives and friends then took out their mobile phones and turned on the flashlights, so that the rituals could be completed," Mane said. The power was restored after 25 minutes, he said, adding, "When our relatives approached the workers at the crematorium, they said the equipment was dysfunctional. We were not in the mood to argue with them."

Mane also complained about the condition of the crematorium. The "pile of wood used for cremation gets wet in the monsoon and people have to use diesel and ghee to burn the bodies of their family members," he said. It was raining heavily the day Mane went to cremate his mother, and the wood was completely soaked. The men at the crematorium told us to use diesel so that it can burn properly. I had to use 5 litre diesel and 8 kg ghee to burn her body completely."

The workers there also told them to be careful of snakes hiding in the pile of wood, he said. "We made several complaints about the crematorium ground to the civic officials, but no one listened." Moreover, only two of three cremation chambers are functional there, and the electric crematorium has been "demolished for the reason best known to them". Hence there is a long waitlist for funerals, Mane said, adding, "At least a dozen bodies, including of COVID-19 patients, are burnt at this crematorium."

When contacted, Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) Assistant Municipal Commissioner Rupali Sankhe said, "Is it (power back-up) lying dysfunctional? I will have to check and get it repaired at the earliest."