Set up temporary crematorium, R Ashoka tells deputy commissioners

Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Tuesday ordered all deputy commissioners to immediately identify government land as temporary crematorium. Such facilities will come up near cities, including Bengaluru.

"It has come to my notice that land was unavailable to perform the last rites of those who perished due to Covid-19," the letter said, noting that cases were on an upward surge in a few city corporations of the state.

Deputy commissioners, Ashoka said, should immediately identify government land within one to two km of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits and other cities, as a temporary facility for the cremation of Covid-19 victims.

The minister has also directed officials to identify such land at the earliest. It can be recalled that growing fatalities in the second wave of the pandemic has lead to huge queues in crematoria, especially in Bengaluru.

Ashoka had also announced setting up temporary burial grounds near Yelahanka, as burial grounds in the city too ran out of space.