Eco-friendly cremation in dev bhoomi Haridwar soon

Haridwar: At a time when India is battling high level of pollution, the residents of Haridwar will now have an eco-friendly alternative to perform the last rites of the deceased.

A company has installed an incinerator near a cremation ground managed by Sewa Samiti in Haridwar.

The incinerator, installed by a Ludhiana-based eco-treatment plant company near the cremation ground at Kharkhari, is likely to be operational within two weeks.

The new method of burning the bodies in a furnace will help lower pollution and save the Ganga.

Also, the method would consume less time, less wood and less money, reports the Millenium Post.

“A long portrait of Ganga Ma will be set-up near bath-tub, from where the collected Ganga water will be used for purifying the bodies. The used water will be treated further for other purposes and will not be allowed to mix with the river. The water can also be used for irrigation purposes,” the Millenium Post cited a caretaker of the cremation ground as saying.

It was earlier revealed that cremation under Hindu rituals on the banks of the holy river spoiled the purity of water and hampered the Clean Ganga project.

Also, the smoke emanating from the funeral pyre polluted the air.

The furnace at Kharkhari can absorb harmful gases/smoke like SO2, NOx.

“It will control felling of trees as less wood will be used while cremating the bodies. In general, 4-5 quintals of wood are used for burning corpses. But in the furnace, only 100-150 kg of wood will be required. It has the capacity to burn around 7-8 bodies in a day,” said a Sewa Samiti volunteer.