Mulund (W) Crematorium in Shambles!! Poor Facilities All Around!!
A crematorium or a Smashan Bhoomi is the final resting place of Hindus but, alas, in Mulund even the dead have no peace as the Mulund (W) Shamshan Bhoomi, managed by Mulund Nagrik Sabha, is in shambles with a dearth of basic facilities, including unavailability of drinking water!
The relatives of the dead claim they face umpteen problems due to lack of benches, poor sanitation, the security boundary wall being broken and the ill-maintenance. To top it all, the chimney has not been working since long. As a result, there is no space to release the smoke generated when the dead body is in flames. Due to this, the people in the surrounding area complain of air pollution. Even the pedestrians walking on the road face immense trouble. In addition, the Mulund Nagrik Sabha’s Managing Committee has no answer regarding the tragic problem of little children’s burial space.
A local resident, B.M. Bhandarkar, told Home Times, “Recently, I visited Smashan Bhoomi 2 to 3 times and was disappointed at the dismal state of the infrastructure, particularly the burial place where little children are buried which is in a pathetic state. Shockingly, at night, dogs hunt around the place owing to the main door of the Shamshan Bhoomi being left open. In addition, people face a lot of problems due to the emission of smoke.” He bemoaned, “The major problem is that if any donor comes forward to offer financial support to solve any problem, the members of the Mulund Nagrik Sabha decline to accept such assistance.”
Dilip Salvi, another Mulundkar, told Home Times, “I have been staying in Mulund for the past 25 years, but it is painful to say that in this long period I have not witnessed any major revamp. In fact, the plight of the Smashan Bhoomi has deteriorated from worse to worst. The situation is so pitiable that the Smashan Bhoomi lacks the most basic facility of water. There is no provision to provide drinking water! Besides, CCTV is most vital in today’s age, but there is no CCTV facility. What is most disgraceful is that people are charged more than the stipulated fees!!”
When Home Times took up the people’s woes to Sanjay Dubey, the Secretary of the Mulund Nagrik Sabha Managing Committee, he declined the allegations. He said, “We do not charge a single rupee more than prescribed by the Sanstha. If anybody had a complaint of over-charging then he should have lodged a complaint, but I am sure that nobody has been over-charged.”
Informing about the pathetic infrastructure and the chimney complaint, Dubey said, “The BMC has sanctioned Rs 1.75cr for the chimney. The work was to start last month. Along with chimney, the boundary wall will also be revamped. But the problem is that there is a delay from BMC, but soon things will be done.”
About Mulund (W) Shamshan Bhoomi
Mulund(W) Smashan Bhoomi located at R.P. Road was made in 1926 and is 87 years old. It is the only Smashan Bhoomi in Mulund (W) which has a population of over 13.5 lacs.
