Modern crematorium opens in Bellary on Sunday

bellary: post-death rituals have now been made easy. harishchandra ghat, a full-fledged crematorium for all communities, is opening on sunday in bellary. for those mourners disturbed by death, the ghat offers to take care of basic facilities required for the rites, right from the funeral to `karmakaanda'. it is a long-term wish fulfilment for the people of bellary.the crematorium has been taken up by the arya vysya association, bellary, with the assistance of local political leaders and donors.m. the first of its kind in the region, it has been constructed on a stretch of 1.59 acres, at a cost of rs 40 lakh. it serves all those communities who follow the tradition of burning the dead, said nama ratnaiah, president, crematorium committee. the ghat is equipped with silicon burning buckets for cremation, and can cater to five bodies simultaneously, with a spare bucket for emergencies. the body is placed in the silicon bucket and covered with 350 kg of wood and cotton seeds. the asthikas collect at the bottom of the bucket are preserved in lockers till the performance of karma. ten bathrooms have been constructed, with separate rooms for ladies. quarters are available for those families wishing to stay a couple of days for the karmakaanda rites. families will be provided asthika lockers, of which the ghat has 30, to preserve the ashes. offering pinda to the soul has also been made systematic. a shiva temple has been constructed on the premises, where devotees can change their holy thread, a tradition of the karma ritual. the cremation committee provides all the ingredients required, right from firewood for burning to performing karma. two employees appointed by the committee will work round the clock and also maintain the modern ghat, and have been provided residential quarters on the premises. the committee also maintains the mortuary van, the `vaikuntha ratham' donated by vasavi committee to carry the body to the ghat, and for which a nominal fee will be charged, said ratnaiah. but on the whole, he assures that death won't be an expensive business, as the ghat will be run on a no loss-no profit basis. however, the committee holds the right to give free service to the poor. the governing body of the arya vysya association, also headed by nama ratnaiah, will supervise the maintenance of the ghat. d.l. ramesh is the vice-president, sontha giridhar the secretary, j.c. sunkaiah gupta and muthyala ramesh babu are joint secretaries, and vitta venkatesh is the treasurer. after the inauguration on sunday, the netronmelanam will be performed at 8.30 a.m. followed by the bootha dahanam at 9 a.m. and rudrabhishekam and mahamangalaharathi at 10 a.m. the contact number is 79010, but one hopes you don't have to use it.