BENGALURU: The electric crematorium in Peenya will be closed for 75 days from Sunday for repair work.
This comes in the backdrop of BBMP's decision to shift from horizontal to vertical coil mounting in the furnaces at the crematorium. In fact, the Palike plans to make this shift across all its electric crematoriums in a phased manner.
A BBMP official said, "The entire furnace has to be dismantled and built again. This is the reason we need 75 days. The crematorium will be closed from January 30 till April 15. It is important we carry it out in a phased manner to avoid any inconvenience to the public."
While the Peenya crematorium is closed, citizens can use facilities at Summanahalli or Medi Agrahara crematorium.
Another BBMP official said the issue with horizontal coils is that they are difficult to change in case of damage. "We have to wait nearly 72 hours before the coil can be replaced. With vertical coils, we need a maximum of three hours before we can replace them."
The time consumed to burn a body remains the same, which is roughly 1-1.5 hours. "The change is being implemented to increase furnace efficiency, not speed. With the use of vertical coils, the furnace is likely to have fewer breakdowns," the official said.
