The electric crematorium at Pingalasthan, Gaushala, is out of order for the last 10 days for lack of servicing.

Officials at the Pashupati Area Development Trust said the blanket fibre, which absorbs heat, and canvas, which filters smoke and controls vibration,  were not functioning and needed fixing.

“We are contacting mechanics from India for resolving this problem as soon as possible,” said Ramesh Kumar Upreti, chief executive officer at the PADT.

The crematorium that came into operation in January, 2015, was shut for a week last year due to a similar problem.

Kumar Thapa Magar, who oversees operation of the facility, said bodies were still being brought there for cremation because people have no information about the disruption in service.

The PADT runs two crematoriums alternatively but both have broken down. According to Upreti, 18 bodies would be disposed of in the furnaces every day. The unit with a capacity for incinerating 40 bodies a day has cremated over 5,000 bodies so far.

People still follow the traditional practice of performing the last rites of their relatives at the Pashupati Aryaghat. But more and more families are choosing electric crematorium over the wooden pyre as it is environment-friendly, faster and less expensive. Cremating body in the electric facility is cheaper by almost half the cost required to cremate a body in a traditional wooden pyre.