The families of 145 members have to borrow money from friends and relatives to eat two meals a day.
BENGALURU
Electric crematorium staff in Greater Bengaluru have not been paid since February 2025. The ‘direct payment’ of Rs 10,500 to 145 grave diggers and electric crematorium staff is yet to materialise.
The demand for permanent homes for grave diggers has not been addressed, with families living in dilapidated rooms inside the grave site, alleged Dr BR Ambedkar Rudrabhoomi and Vidyut Chithagara Sangha President Savri Rajan.
Even before the BBMP was split, the association met the welfare department officials in the previous corporation. Due to the fault of the BBMP technical team and engineers, the families of 145 members are begging from the families of the deceased who come to the place for the last rites. They have to borrow from friends and relatives for two meals a day.
But paying their children’s school and college fees and rent is a big challenge, say cemetery registrars, diggers, cleaners and staff involved in cremation work
Barring a few, most of us live in rented houses, we have been running from here to there for the last eight months to get our dues. Since February 2025, we have to pay Rs 21,80,000. Now that BBMP is divided into five corporations, some of our representatives are wandering to each Commissioner’s office to inform them about this problem.
However, the problem is not resolved till now. We also requested ‘D’ status in 2017, which is still pending. We will soon have to close all the crematorium gates and switch off our phones, Savri Rajan said.
Some of the existing quarters are 40-50 years old, their walls and roofs are cracked and weak, they can collapse at any time. We request the government, the opposition and the corporation to consider our requests, said a crematorium staff.
Official blames it on ‘Direct Payment’ system delay
Aparna, Assistant Executive Engineer, Electricity Department, Bangalore Central City Corporation, admitted the delay, saying “The process of bringing these sections under the ‘direct payment’ system, which was initiated 10 months ago, has delayed the payment of salaries.”