Pune News: Koregaon Park residents demand better environment and maintenance of Bhairoba Crematorium
By: Pune Pulse
August 12, 2023:
Pune: Residents of Koregaon Park, Former Corporator Mangala Mantri, and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials conducted an ‘on the spot’ inspection of the Bhairoba Crematorium on Saturday in response to the complaints received.
In addition to the location’s poor maintenance and cleanliness, residents alerted PMC officials about the broken window panes and tiles, sheds, exposed electrical wires and fixtures, approximately 6 to 8 stray dogs living inside the crematorium, filthy toilets with no running water, inadequate lighting, etc. In order to maintain the dignity of the location, residents urged that PMC should promptly solve all the issues.
Speaking to Pune Pulse, Samir Roopani, a resident of Koregaon Park said, “The menace of stray dogs, lack of electricity, fans, lights, maintenance of urinals and toilets and many more issues are there in the crematorium. There is always an emotional value attached about our deceased person whenever we visit the crematorium. Hence, all of these issues must be solved. As a result, we had a meeting with several PMC officials and they have assured us that they will carry out refurbishment of the entire crematorium within 15 days. They also assured that it will have all the necessary facilities.”
GV Krishna, another Koregaon Park resident, demanded that there should be proper supervision and regular maintenance so that the place continues to be maintained properly.
Dhairyashil Vandekar, President, Vithalrao Vandekar Foundation and a Koregaon Park resident said, “It is necessary to uphold the dignity of such a space and maintain it in a manner that does not hurt the sentiments of the community.” Vandekar further said that no proper maintenance of the crematorium amounts to disrespecting the deceased and their families. The presence of so many stray dogs inside the crematorium further creates issues for both visitors and workers.
As per information, electrical repairs, painting, road repairs, replacing broken window panes, underground cabling of high-tension electrical cables, enclosing open electrical wires and boxes, garbage and debris clearance, additional taps, tree planting, water line to toilets etc are some of the tasks listed for immediate action after discussions with the residents.
The PMC authorities have committed that the aforementioned work will be finished in the next 15 days. Khare, Sonali Jadhav, Ashok Zuluk, Laxmi Gaware, Mrs Shinde, Kalshetty, and other PMC representatives from the main department and ward were in attendance.
Pune Pulse tried to contact the relevant PMC officials but couldn’t connect till the filing of this report.
Nilesh Mantri, Social Worker, said, “We promptly arranged the visit after complaints by the residents regarding refurbishing of the entire Bhairoba crematorium. Apart from refurbishing the crematorium, a lot of work like road widening near the crematorium, and removal of the transformer which poses risk to people & more issues will be resolved soon. The PMC officials have assured the Koregaon Park residents of effective refurbishment work of the crematorium in the next 15 days. Hence, we are hopeful that the work will be done within the said time limit.”
