Crematorium concerns in Diego

People who live along the Diego Martin Main Road are up in arms over a crematorium planned for the area and are calling on the relevant authorities to act, as they claim no consultation has been held with community representatives.

They fear the crematorium could have dire consequences on the environment and the quality of health.

Newsday spoke to resident Janice Learmond-Criqui, who said RM DeSouza Funeral Chapel has already begun constructing the crematorium, and while the construction may have been approved by the EMA, she and other residents intend to have the approval overturned.

“They have had no discussion with residents whatsoever and they have apparently received their approval from the EMA, again without the EMA conducting any canvassing of the residents who stand to be affected by the smoke.

“These people (DeSouza’s Funeral Home) claimed to have spoken to residents, but have only engaged a few people out of the community and did not bother to hear everyone’s concerns. This is a very serious activity and we intend to have the authorities look into the matter.”

The company’s managing director Sharon DeSouza said she had already addressed the concerns of residents through consultations and sought to assure the public that she had already applied for and received a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) from the EMA, which outlined several potential concerns as well as mitigation measures.

“This is something we have been planning for some time now,” she said.”We did the necessary applications through the appropriate channels and we received our CEC as well as a document from the EMA highlighting potential hazards and ways to prevent against this.”