CNG crematoria plans for two sites fail to materialise

New Delhi: During the second Covid wave, two new CNG-based cremation centres came up in east Delhi to handle the large numbers of bodies left in the wake of the pandemic. However, two more crematoria planned in Jwala Nagar and Seemapuri may not come up at all.
An East Delhi Municipal Corporation official said that tenders were floated, but no company came forward to accept the work.Ghazipur and Karkardoom Shamshan Bhumi ones are the two new crematoria operational with two furnaces each.
CNG furnaces ensure faster, low-cost funerals with less environmental pollution. Before the novel coronavirus pandemic, CNG furnaces were available only in Nigambodh Ghat and Punjabi Bagh Shamshan Bhumi. Not only has the number of furnaces been increased at Nigambodh, new furnaces have been installed in the crematoria at Green Park and Subhash Nagar, Karkardooma and Ghazipur. Officials say that one full cremation takes around 1.5 to 2 hours in a CNG unit and the same can be used for 8-10 cremations in a day. A traditional wood-based cremation site gets occupied for entire day for a single funeral, so less number of bodies can be cremated.
Delhi has seen need for cremation infrastructure upgradation during the pandemic, especially during the second wave. TNN