Pune crematoriums switching to electric, gas pyres over pollution concerns

Officials of the electrical department of the PMC said that they have started the first phase of making the area pollution free

Two weeks after Pune guardian minister Chandrakant Patil chaired a meeting to discuss the problem of air pollution at Vaikunth Crematorium, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has started work towards replacing the use of wood with the use of gas and electricity for cremation.

Vaikunth Crematorium in Pune. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Officials of the electrical department of the PMC said that they have started the first phase of making the area pollution free by converting wood pyres for cremations into electric- and gas-based crematoriums. “We are trying to reduce the air pollution as much as possible by coming up with the best solutions for the same without disturbing the environment and making sure that the citizens get the best of service,” said Shrinivas Kandul, head of the PMC electrical department.

Earlier on April 22, Patil had suggested that the use of wood for cremation at the Vaikunth Crematorium should be reduced and replaced with electric and gas furnaces to reduce air pollution in the area. He had also proposed increasing the height of the chimney and setting up of a dry scrubber to further reduce the amount of smoke in the air. Patil had instructed the PMC to carry forward the project saying that the government would handle the costs and the electric department would be floating tenders for the same once the budget was approved.

Kandul said, “There are other places around Pune too which have air pollution such as Hadapsar, Katraj, Baner and Pashan. We are working towards making them pollution-free zones as well.”

The electric department has put forward several other suggestions to reduce air pollution in the city such as electric animal crematoriums in the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, gas-based incineration of biohazardous medical waste via plant in Pune etc. The PMC is in the process of implementing ways to decrease air pollution significantly in areas most affected by it in the city.