Electric crematorium: PADT plans to start project work in 15 days
Eighteen more months to go and Kathmanduites will see dead bodies being cremated in the country’s first ever electric crematorium.
While the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) prepares to formally declare the name of a contractor that would be given the responsibility of constructing the crematorium, the project is all set to begin within 15 days, said Narottam Vaidya, the PADT treasurer.
According to him, once the work on the site begins, the project will take 18 months to complete.
“We have decided to give the contract of building the crematorium to two different Nepali companies that will be working together,” he said, adding that the names of the builders will be announced before Tihar. “Construction work will start within 15 days after the signing of the contract.”
In January this year, the PADT had given the contract of supplying electric machines for the crematorium to a Kolkata-based company.
“The Indian company will supply the machineries as soon as we demand for it,” Vaidya said. According to him, the project will cost an estimated Rs 70 to 90 million.
The introduction of the electric crematorium is expected to help reduce pollution, especially at a time when burning of dead bodies in wooden pyres is creating environmental problems. “Besides this, the new system is likely to control deforestation,” said Vaidya.
“The machine will work as a pyre which will also produce ashes of the dead bodies without causing any harm to the environment. The process, therefore, is not only eco-friendly, but also religiously adaptable.” With every funeral pyre consuming 350 to 500 kg of wood at present, the process is leading to deforestation around the Kathmandu valley. Once the electric system comes into operation, it will take only 40 minutes to burn a dead body, a time far less than the traditional burning sytem that takes nearly four to five hours.
PADT authorities had tried to introduce an electric crematorium 20 years ago as well, but the idea was rejected by Hindu extremists on the ground that they would not be able to perform traditional funeral rites. This time around, Vaidya ruled out any possibilities of protests from any religious group. He, however, said cremation through the electric system will not be made mandatory. The public will be allowed to choose between the traditional and the modern systems, he added.
Posted on: 2011-10-19 08:36
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