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or families of Hindus in capital city Jakarta, taking care of family members who pass away has always been challenging as the crematorium facilities are limited.

About 20,000 Hindus in Jakarta have since 1975 been relying on a private Buddhist crematorium in Cilincing, managed by the Daya Besar Foundation, whenever a family member passed away.

Having such limited facilities has been a challenge, according to Iswara Darmawan, a Balinese Hindu who is a resident of Pluit in North Jakarta.

He said a Hindu family could spend tens of millions for the traditional ngaben (cremation). The process includes buying a coffin, bathing the deceased, preparing offerings, renting a boat to scatter ashes in Jakarta Bay and giving honoraria to those who help the families.

“For a Hindu family, ngaben is part of our lives and probably one of the most sacred ceremonial events. It shows that we as family members have completed our duty and wish that the spirit can reach its happy next life,” Iswara said on Thursday.

He raised concern over inclusivity for all religious believers in the capital city, as the facilities were not all equal. However, he also expressed gratitude for the new crematory machine that has been recently provided by the Jakarta administration to the community.

“Hindu followers have not been getting enough attention outside of Bali. Like in the capital city, we only received a free-to-use and proper crematory machine this year. It’s hard to imagine what it is like in other regions,” he said.

The Jakarta administration finally handed over a crematory to the Hindu community based in the capital, a promise made long ago to help the Hindus carry out traditional rituals for the dead at a more affordable cost.

Graha Yadnya Foundation president Made Sudarta commended the city for finally granting the community’s request made about two years ago, saying that the machine would provide cost relief for many.

“We are thankful to have this crematory which will help to carry out ngaben among the community in Jakarta,” Made told The Jakarta Post recently.

The foundation’s secretariat, which also houses the Segara Hindu Temple, has never had a crematory before, and it has been regularly used as a place of gathering during religious rituals including Nyepi (Day of Silence) and Galungan (celebration of the victory of dharma over adharma).

The crematory was placed at the Temple in Cilincing, North Jakarta, on Dec. 11 by Governor Anies Baswedan.

Anies said he granted the request as he had been made aware that the community needed a crematory after he handed over a burial ground for Hindu followers in the city.

In the inauguration of the nearby Pura Dalem Purnajati Tanjung Puri in Cilincing back in 2017, Anies gave 2 hectares of land to the Hindu community as a burial area, but the community requested a crematory instead.

Anies said the city would commit to setting up facilities to be able to ease the process of cremation at ngaben ceremonies, so that any aspect that was obligatory to Hindus living in Jakarta could be carried out properly.

He explained that the procurement of a crematory machine could only be realized this year as it required a budget deliberation process with the City Council.

“Jakarta must embrace all residents. That is our commitment,” Anies said in the crematory handover event.

Made said the Hindu community preferred a crematory over the land for burial provided in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, because in the ngaben ceremony, Hindus prefer to scatter the ashes of the deceased into the Jakarta Sea.

The presence of the new facility would lessen the reliance on the crematory services provided by the Daya Besar Foundation, which he said were quite costly.

A member of the Daya Besar Foundation, Timin, said a Hindu family had to pay around Rp 1.8 million (US$128.7) to Rp 4.5 million to use a room at the crematorium, depending on the thickness of a coffin’s wood prepared by each family.

Moreover, he said, because some Buddhists and Christians also used the rooms, the family of the deceased would have to wait their turn to cremate their loved ones. A list of names is written down on a white board outside its secretariat on a daily basis.