Guj Frames of crematorium furnaces melt due to rush of bodies

    Surat, Apr 13 (PTI) Metal structures of furnaces at
some crematoriums in Surat have started melting or breaking as
they are being used round-the-clock due to the rush of bodies
amid the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said on Tuesday.
    Since the past one week, around 16 gas-based furnaces
at the Kurukshetra Crematorium and Ashvini Kumar Crematorium
here in Gujarat are operating 24X7 to cremate bodies, hence
maintenance issues are cropping up, they said.
    The metal frames of gas furnaces, on which the bodies
are kept, and chimneys are melting or breaking because of
overheating and excessive use, the official said.
    In the last couple of days, Surat city reported 18 to
19 deaths due to COVID-19 every day.
    "Before the coronavirus outbreak last year, around 20
bodies were cremated at the Kurukhsetra Crematorium every day.
Now, there is a sudden rush of bodies. At present, we are
handling about 100 bodies per day," Kamlesh Sailor, president
of a trust which manages the crematorium, told PTI.
    Sailor said six gas furnaces at their facility are now
being operated 24 hours and hence, the temperature there
reaches up to 600 degrees Celsius.
    As a result, the iron frames and chimneys have started
melting and breaking due to the heat, he said, adding that
mechanics are being called to replace those parts.
    The Ashvini Kumar Crematorium, the oldest such
facility in Surat, is also facing similar issues and its
management has decided to increase the number of traditional
wood pyres to manage the rush of bodies in case of maintenance
issues in the gas furnaces.
    "We operate 10 gas furnaces and three wood pyres.
Earlier, we used to cremate about 30 bodies every day. Now,
the number has gone up to 90-95," the crematorium's manager,
Prashant Kabrawala, said.
    Since the furnaces are being operated round-the-clock,
some of their iron frames have melted due to overheating. Some
pipes and chimney joints have also broken because of the
excessive heat generated in the facility, he said.
    "We recently installed heat-resistant bricks in two of
our furnaces, which were shut for some time. Our maintenance
engineers are visiting the crematorium almost daily as we are
facing these issues every day," he said.
    Kabrawala said they have decided to add two more wood
pyres in the wake of these frequent maintenance issues. PTI
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)