Cremation grounds stock 3,000 quintals of cow-dung logs before monsoon:Eco-friendly last rites on the rise; 1,200 trees spared from felling in Bhopal

Anticipating a halt in the production of cow-dung logs (“gau-kashth”) during the rainy season, cremation ground committees in the city have stocked a record 3,000 quintals of the eco-friendly fuel ahead of the monsoon. According to the committees, a traditional cremation requires around 2.5 to 3 quintals of firewood, equivalent to one full-grown tree. Based on this estimate, the stored cow-dung logs are expected to save nearly 1,200 trees from being cut in the coming months. Cow-dung log production likely to stop during rains Mamtesh Sharma, coordinator of the Gau-Kashth Promotion and Environmental Conservation Committee, said that around 20 cremations are being performed daily using cow-dung logs at Bhadbhada cremation ground alone. This helps save nearly 20 trees every day. He added that the storage of cow-dung logs is being carried out under the guidance of committee president Arun Choudhary. Use of electric cremation facilities increasing According to Shobhraj Sukhwani, manager of Subhash Nagar cremation ground, similar storage efforts are underway there as well. He said the number of cremations conducted at electric crematoriums in the city has been steadily rising. At Subhash Nagar, six cremations were conducted using the electric crematorium in March. The number increased to 11 in April and has reached 18 so far in May. A similar trend has been observed at Chhola cremation ground, where electric cremations earlier averaged four to five per month. The figure has now increased to seven to nine per month. Cow-dung log stock at cremation grounds Dr Deepak Mehta, vice-president of the Chhola cremation ground committee, said the facility has already built an additional stock of 500 quintals of cow-dung logs and continues to add more. At Bhadbhada cremation ground, around 2,500 quintals of cow-dung logs have been safely stored for use during the monsoon season.