Guyana’s first modern crematorium, the Memorial Gardens and Crematorium opened for business in the compound of the Le Repentir cemetery yesterday, proprietor Dr. Carl Niamatali said.
There are many cremation sites but this state-of the-art facility is the first to house a crematorium and gas chamber to incinerate bodies. The facility also contains a cold chamber to house bodies, a washing room, a chapel and a Hindu temple with a memorial garden for persons who want to plant a flower for their lost loved ones.
Niamatali yesterday hailed his facility as a “green project.” He estimated that the cost for a funeral would range from $150,000 to $160,000 and stated that there are different packages that have not yet been worked out. The packages are: silver, gold and platinum.
Some of the packages offer relatives living overseas a chance to view and pay tribute to their dead love ones via Skype. After the funeral, the body would be cremated. Relatives would be allowed to press the button to ignite the chamber. No actual fire is present in the process but the chamber is rather, heated to approximately 1400 to 1900 degrees. Cremation lasts for nearly an hour and a half.
After the body is incinerated, it is passed through an ash tray and parts which were not completely burnt will be taken into a compressor that would reduce the parts to ashes. The chamber is digitally operated by a cremator who would monitor the cremation process. The ashes would then be placed in an urn and presented to the family a day later.
The space in Le Repentir was leased from the Mayor and City Council after Niamatali applied to build a crematorium. Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green had said that since early 2013, the Council along with the revived Cemetery Commit-tee began to seriously look at the application.
She had said that the city’s role will be to lease the land and all services will be run by Niamatali and his association. Chase-Green had said that for years, there were numerous bids and applications to assist with the restoration of the cemetery but for one reason or another, none ever panned out.
She recalled that in 2006 and 2007, the Cemetery Committee was resuscitated and it assessed various proposals. She had said that although there were numerous proposals, Niamatali was more aggressive in his pursuit and seemed more prepared to begin construction.
