Cremation set to go eco-friendly in holy city Haridwar soon

The residents of the holy city will now have an eco-friendly alternative to perform the last rites of their loved ones. In a bid to save the Ganga and lower pollution, environmentalists in Haridwar were working hard to make the traditional method of cremation along the banks of the Ganga River a thing of the past. Now, cremation in incinerators is being planned in the city.

The new method of burning the bodies in a furnace would take less time, less wood and less money. Moreover, it will stay true to Hindu rituals and tradition, which was generally done during 

the cremation.

“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,” said a caretaker of the cremation ground managed by Sewa Samiti.

Under the Clean Ganga project, it was revealed that cremation under Hindu rituals on the banks of the holy river spoiled the purity of water. Moreover, the smoke emanating from the funeral pyre polluted the air and rampant use of wood led to large scale tree-felling.

A member of Sewa Samiti said the electric crematorium was installed here with an aim to save water and air. But the residents here always prefer the traditional method.          

The furnace at Kharkhari has the capacity to absorb harmful gases/smoke like SO2, NOx and suspended particulate matter will be treated in wet scrubber system.

“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.