The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) from February 6 will start using cow dung cakes instead of wood at its 26 crematoriums across the city. The use of cow dung cakes will save lakhs of trees, thus protecting the environment, said officials.
The civic body used the cow dung cakes for cremation on a trial basis and found a reduction in the emission of particles, ashes and smoke after which permission was given to a private organisation to use the cow dung cakes.
As per the officials at Vaikunth Smashan Bhoomi (crematorium) alone, around 35 to 40 cremations take place daily. Daily around 300 to 350 kg of wood is used for cremation here.
The PMC has 26 crematoriums across the city and in a month around 3,000 to 3,500 cremations take place.
The ritual of the funeral fire consumes on average an entire tree. Besides being less cumbersome and environmentally destructive, cow dung cakes are also more economical. With the stringent restrictions over cutting trees, woods have become costlier.
Shrinivas Kandul, head of the PMC electrical department, said, the practice is prevalent in cities like Nagpur, Kolkata, and Delhi amongst others and as per the demand of the residents the decision has been taken.
{{/usCountry}}Shrinivas Kandul, head of the PMC electrical department, said, the practice is prevalent in cities like Nagpur, Kolkata, and Delhi amongst others and as per the demand of the residents the decision has been taken.
{{/usCountry}}“Residents living in the vicinity of crematorium have been complaining about the hazardous fumes and smoke coming from the crematorium. The use of cow dung cakes for cremation or electrical and gas crematorium will significantly decrease the pollution caused during funerals,” he said.
Kandul said, this is a move towards the eco-friendly cremations that PMC has opted for.
Prashant Raul, green activist, said that using cow dung cakes for crematoriums is not 100% eco-friendly but is a sustainable solution and alternative to wood.
“I had even visited crematoriums of 13 municipal corporations and despite the availability of gas and electric crematoriums people prefer burning wood for cremation. These dung cakes cost less than wood and is always a better option,” he said.