The dead in Lucknow is soon to get a green farewell, if the ambitious plan of the Civic Body gets succeeds. The Lucknow Municipal Corporation has envisaged three green crematoriums or ‘greenatoriums’, which they hope to give the residents an environment friendly way to say good bye to their loved ones.
Kudiya Ghat, Baikunth Dham in Gomtinagar and Alambagh are the three places where greenatoriums are coming up. The ‘greenatorium’ is something that is in between the traditional funeral pyre made of wood and an electric crematorium that has a metal chamber and exhaust pipe, according to the Corporation officials.
Chief engineer RN Tripathi told the media that greenatorium would come up with a burning chamber having a body tray, two exhaust pipes and a water tank to “neutralise” the fumes. He said that the body will be placed in the drawer like pyre. Wood is placed on the body. The pyre is then lit and pushed into the chamber. The black smoke will be passed through the first chimney and a water tank before it is released. The smoke that comes out will be white and less toxic, he said.
The ‘greenatorium will have several advantages over traditional pyre. It only requires less than 75 kg of wood. In normal pyre, about 350 kg of wood is used. Another advantage is that the cost is much lower. The new green crematorium is estimated to cost only Rs 300-500. Now the people have to shed about Rs 4,000 for a cremation. The Corporation has allocated Rs 1.35 crore from the 14th Finance Commission. A Gorakhpur-based private company will be constructing the green crematoriums. The work is expected to commence from first week of April. Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia said “The ‘greenatoriums’ will give the people an opportunity to light a traditional pyre without damaging air quality.
