Smoke from crematorium chokes Kotturpuram residents

Chennai: Residents near Kotturpuram crematorium at West Canal Road have been battling with a problem for over two years now —emission of smoke after incineration of human bodies.

“Every time a body is incinerated thick smoke with a pungent smell fills the locality. The pipe provided for let out has been under repair since 2016. Numerous complaints have been raised, but to no avail,” said Hari Haran, a resident of the area, showing black patches on the walls of his home, that he claims to have been formed due to the smoke.

Another resident added that it gets difficult to even step out of their houses when a dead body is brought to the crematorium. “Senior citizens find it difficult to breathe and we lock the kids indoors during these times as lot of health issues are associated with this,” said one of them.

She further added that one of the officials who visited the crematorium a couple of years ago for checking said the planning itself was faulty and the whole pipe has to be reconstructed to avoid the situation.

 However, when DC contacted the workers at crematorium, they denied any such allegations and also claimed that the situation is under control.

On the other hand, residents call on for imperative action, as a school is also present in the vicinity.