No power: The new crematorium which has two gas-fuelled incinerators will become operational once it gets power connection
Dubai: A new crematorium in Sharjah for Hindus and Sikhs that opened earlier this year is finally set to start functioning within days, XPRESS can reveal.
“Efforts are being made to get the electricity connection. The contractor has submitted the completion of work certificate. Once it is approved by the Sharjah Municipality after their inspection, electricity will be connected. Maybe we will have some good news within a week,” Dr. N.M Nair, the administrator of the Indian Association, Sharjah told XPRESS. The crematorium is run by a special committee formed by the Indian Consulate of Dubai, under the Association.
further delays
Located on the Al Dhaid road opposite the cement factory, it was inaugurated in February 2013 and opened in August after delays. However it never became operational. According to sources, work on its electrical system was finished ahead of time, but there was no power connection because of unfinished paperwork.
“Everything is now sorted out. I am told the electricity, water and gas will be connected within a week and we can start operating the incinerator,” said a staff employed to look after the daily operations of the crematorium.
The building, which has two gas-fuelled incinerators, will be the fourth crematorium in the UAE following the launch of a multi-faith centre in Al Ain about two years ago. A crematorium opened in Abu Dhabi a decade ago and Dubai’s Jebel Ali crematorium has been operating longer.
The only place in Sharjah that presently facilitates last rites for Hindus is the Bee’ah Waste Management Complex located just a few kilometres away from the new crematorium in Al Saja’a. Hindu customs require a body to be reduced to ashes. The Sharjah Municipality currently provides personnel to perform the cremation manually using logs for a nominal fee after the paperwork.
However, Hindus in Sharjah often face problems when the designated cremator is unavailable or on vacations.
“We had no choice but to go to Jebel Ali where we ended up spending over Dh4,000 for my husband’s last rites. There was no facility in Sharjah at that time. I could have taken his body to India for free with the courtesy extended to me by the Indian Government, but I didn’t have much time at hand,” said Devi Banerjee whose husband, Gautam was found dead in an Al Nahda apartment last month.
“The cost of cremation in Sharjah is almost a tenth of that, but the man who performs the cremation is on leave. So there was no other choice for them,” said voluntary worker Ashraf Palarakunnumal, who has helped repatriate over 1,700 bodies of 38 nationalities from the UAE.
A municipality staff said they receive about two to three bodies a month on an average, but sometimes there aren’t any bodies for months. An estimated 25 to 30 bodies are cremated in Sharjah in a year. The new crematorium is built on 10 acres of land donated by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.