GHAZIABAD: The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) by February will install city's first electric crematorium along the banks of Hindon river . As per a GDA official, 90% of infrastructural work is complete and the machines has reached the site which will be installed in a fortnight."Being installed at a total cost of Rs 1.20 crore we have spent Rs 70 lakh on constructing infrastructure and Rs 49 lakh on machines which will be installed in 15 days,” said Ajay Singh, executive engineer, GDA. Owing to immense air pollution that traditional cremation causes, the district magistrate in December last year had written to GDA for expediting work on electric crematorium. “Even the NGT in 2016 had asked various municipalities to switch over to electric crematorium and keeping all in mind we are ready with city’s first electric crematorium,” added Singh.Acharya Prince who oversees cremations on Hindon ghat says that on an average about 15 cremations through traditional method are being done every day. “Sometimes we manage 30 cremations a day and cremation through traditional method, in which woods are used, entails about 500 kg of woods per pyre and by that count on an average 7500 kg of wood is used daily,” said Acharya Prince. “One can very well imagine the amount of air pollution it is causing and apart from that it takes four to five hours for one cremation against 45 minutes through electric cremation which is also less expensive,” added Acharya Prince.An electric crematorium involves electric furnace, collection chamber and a platform. “We will require about 56 kW of electricity to run electric crematorium and it is designed in such a way that it traps much of toxic fumes and pollutants within the system itself thereby not letting it to mix with outside air,” said Singh. “The ashes accumulates in the collection chamber which is handed over to the relative for immersion,” added Singh.But despite so much of benefits with electric crematorium Acharya Prince says getting people to use it will be a challenge. “Due to certain Hindu belief not many people opt for electric crematorium for cremating their loved ones and for that administration will have to launch an awareness programme to convince people,” said Acharya Prince.

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