Berhampur: The Rotary Club here has revamped the cremation ground at Neelakantha Nagar at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore.

"We have developed it on the lines of a crematorium at Vijayanagram in Andra Pradesh," said President Rotary Club of Berhampur Tapas Kumar Panigrahi.

The cremation ground at Neelakantha Nagar is believed to be as old as the Berhampur city. The condition of the cremation ground was deplorable. The shrubs full of thorns and wild plants made it difficult to even walk on the ground. There was hardly any empty space available for proper cremation. During the rainy season people faced a lot of problems to perform the rituals. It was a water-logged, dark and damp area with no electricity and no concrete elevation to hold the corpse.

People were suffering for decades as no one took any initiative in this regard.

The revamp project started on 19, February 2010 after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Berhampur Municipal Corporation and the Rotary Club of Berhampur. A few rickshaw pullers had volunteered to offer free service to clean up the place, but the project remained incomplete due financial constraints.

The main entrance and six burning ghats with well-furnished trays with sprinkler system to wash the tray after use and preserve the ashes have been developed. This apart, four rooms to preserve the "Asthi", an office room and one reception room have been constructed.

There is also a well-furnished prayer hall where one can keep the corpse for a few hours for the last "darshan" of the relatives and friends.

"We plan to have a well-maintained pond, soothing landscaping and plantation of auspicious trees such as neem, bela, batta, chira and pepal," Panigrahi said.

"We want to construct a compound wall as well to encircle the burial ground," said Rotary Club member Ganjam Santosh Sahu.