Rs 2.5-Crore Chromepet Crematorium Unopened Eight Months After Completion

A newly constructed crematorium built at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore in the Lakshmi Nagar and Lakshmipuram area of Chromepet has remained closed for public use eight months after its completion. Tambaram Corporation officials have stated that the delay in opening the facility is due to them waiting for an unclaimed body to conduct a trial run before officially commissioning it for the public.

Prior to the construction of this facility, the Lakshmipuram area in Chromepet did not have its own crematorium. Local residents were forced to travel to the Tambaram Corporation crematorium situated directly in front of the Tambaram headquarters hospital to carry out funerals. To reach that crematorium, funeral processions were required to cross the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road and travel a long distance, causing hardship for local families.

Following requests from local residents seeking relief from these travel difficulties, the Tambaram Corporation undertook and completed the construction of the Rs 2.5-crore local facility eight months ago. However, despite the completion of work, the building has remained locked.

Social activist V. Santhanam highlighted that the finished crematorium has been sitting idle for the past eight months. When local residents repeatedly raised the issue and appealed to the Tambaram Corporation Commissioner along with other officials, authorities responded that they needed an unclaimed body without relatives to serve as a trial subject before opening the crematorium for general public use.

In response to continued public pressure and demands from the community, officials eventually carried out a trial test by burning dry coconut branches and wooden logs inside the facility. However, Santhanam stated that even after performing this test, the crematorium was not opened for public service.

Providing the local administration's perspective, a Tambaram Corporation official explained that the trust associated with the Lakshmipuram Residents Welfare Association had originally promised to take up the maintenance responsibilities for the crematorium, but had delayed doing so. The official added that another trust has recently stepped forward to assume maintenance duties for the facility and promised that the crematorium would be opened for public use soon.