Know Kolkata crematorium availability on mobile app

Kolkata: Aming to help grieving families who have to wait in long queues to cremate body of their dear ones, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has launched a mobile application giving details about the availability of furnaces at city crematoriums.

The 'KMC' android app launched on Saturday can be downloaded from Google play and provides information about the current status of the electrical furnaces at the city's Nimtala and Keoratala crematoriums.

"Bereaved families often have to wait for several hours at crematoriums because of the large number of cremations. Through this app, they can instantly know about the how many furnaces are engaged at the time and how long is the queue," member, Mayor-In-Council (health), Atin Ghosh told IANS.

"Currently only burning ghat status of Nimtala and Keoratala are available on the app, but we are in the process of bringing all the city crematoriums under the ambit of the app. 

"Besides, LED displays would also be put outside the crematoriums providing the status about the availability of the furnaces," said Ghosh.

The statuses of the crematoriums can also be known by accessing - www.kmcgov.in - the KMC official website.

The 188-year-old Nimtala crematorium, where the last rites of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore were performed in 1941, currently has 12 electrical furnaces and four pollution-free wooden pyres.

According to KMC officials, on average 80-100 bodies are cremated on a daily basis at the Nimtala crematorium which is steeped in history and has bid adieu to the mortal remains of Tagore, his father Debendranath and composer of "Vande Mataram" Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay besides other luminaries from West Bengal.

One of the largest cremation grounds in the city, the Keoratala crematorium has six electric furnaces and two pollution free wooden pyres.

Among the notable funerals that took place at Keoratala were of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray and eminent poet and novelist Jibanananda Das.