Crematoria to get a serene makeover
BMC Ties Up With Corporates For Beautification Project…….Sharad Vyas
BMC Ties Up With Corporates For Beautification Project…….Sharad Vyas
Mumbai: Performing the last rites of your loved one does not have to be a traumatic experience any more.If all goes as planned,the municipal corporation is hoping that the last farewells to the dearly departed at the local crematorium will be a deeply spiritual journey for mourners.Recently,the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) tied up with corporates to beautify and maintain local crematoria.
Soon,crematoria will have temples,tastefully designed waiting rooms,and other such facilities.There are 181 crematoria across Mumbai,of which at least 124 are managed by private and religious trusts,and oversee thousands cremations and burials every year.There are 11 electric crematoria,while the BMC maintains another 46 facilities.We want to tackle the popular misconception that the municipal-run crematoria are not wellmaintained and condemned places marred by encroachments, said an official explaining the motive behind the civic bodys move.
As part of the beautification plans,the BMC has handed over four crematoriumsat Daulat Nagar in Borivli,Teachers Colony at Bandra,Bail Bazar at Kurla and at a civic-run facility at Maladto Reliance Energy.Plans include providing spacious waiting rooms,temples with prayer rooms,asthi rooms,marble flooring and,most importantly,ensuring speedy handover of ashes.To make a visit to the crematorium a pleasant experience for relatives and family members of the dead,the company has drawn up a detailed plan to improve the overall ambience of the place.For instance,walls will be scripted with religious shlokas.
The facilities are being developed as part of Reliance Energys Project Dignity.The idea is to make sure that a crematorium is seen as a place that provides solace to the distraught,calms the heartbroken.Therefore to lend that sense of serenity,calm and purity,we have constructed temples with prayer rooms,white marble flooring,among other things, said a company spokesperson.
The municipal corporation is also planning to develop what officials call park-like crematoria at Rafiq Nagar in Govandi and Kapaswadi in Juhu.At Tata Colony in Mulund,the BMC has already started building one such facility,which officials say will serve as a model for the others to follow.At 21,200 sq m,it will be one of the citys largest crematoriums,with space allocated for a garden,paved pathways and even quarters for the staff,officials said.The cost of the Mulund project will be between Rs 3 and Rs 5 crore.
Our aim is to ensure that relatives and mourners leave the crematorium in a state of serenity,not sadness.By involving corporate firms,we want to ensure that many more such facilities to come up all over the city, said deputy municipal commissioner (zone VI) B R Marathe.
THE LAST STOP
As per the BMCs plans,new crematoria will have:
– Elevated marble blocks to place the body
– Temples with a prayer room
– Tastefully designed waiting rooms and seating
– Asthi room
– Posters with shlokas
– Maximum use of diffused light
– Marble flooring
– Landscaping with gardens and paved pathways will be provided wherever possible
* OASIS OF PEACE: (Top) Renovation work underway at a crematorium in Borivli.(Above) A multi-faith crematorium on Marwe Road