CITY Hall has ordered the closure of the city’s last four traditional temple crematoria following complaints about pollution and associated health issues, officials said Sunday.

Meas Nhjel, a representative of the municipal Department of Cults and Religions, said people living near the crematoria had expressed concern about excessive smoke from the traditional cremations.

“Local people are unhappy with the smoke that negatively impacts on their health and the environment. They expressed their concerns and complaints in a report to the municipal governor,” Meas Nhjel said.

Last September, City Hall ordered five pagodas in central Phnom Penh to close their crematoria after two large electric cremation systems opened in Dangkor district.