A Nalasopara resident recently conducted the last rites of his mother in the flashlight of mobile phones, thanks to the dysfunctional power back-up at a VVCMC-run crematorium ground. A local journalist’s mother, 92, had died last week, and her body was taken to Samelpada crematorium ground in the evening. “As we rested the body of my mother, Nirmala Mane, on the pyre, the electricity went out. We thought there was a power back-up, but the crematorium had neither a generator nor an inverter,” Ravindra Mane told mid-day.

“It wasn’t possible to wait for the restoration of power, as we had to complete the rites soon. My relatives and friends then took out their mobile phones and turned on the flashlights, so that the rituals could be completed,” Mane said. The power was restored after 25 minutes, he said, adding, “When our relatives approached the workers at the crematorium, they said the equipment was dysfunctional. We were not in the mood to argue with them.”