Gas-fired furnace inaugurated at Jamshedpur’s Parvati Ghat

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, Mar 31: Dead bodies coming to Parvati Ghat near Kharkai bridge for the last rites can also be cremated in a gas- fired furnace which was inaugurated today.

The facility has come up at a cost of about Rs 70 lakh. Bodies at the ghat are also cremated in electric furnaces and wood. The bereaved coming to the ghat for funerals now have the option of also cremating the bodies in a gas-fired furnace.

Heat is generated inside the furnace from LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas), said Parvati Ghat managing committee general secretary Dipendra Bhatt.

According to him, funds for the new project have been generated with help from members and well wishers. “We also have two electric furnaces and by adopting traditional methods of using wooden logs on two separate platforms under a tin shed,” he added.

Bhatt pointed out the gas-powered furnace will help in reducing air pollution level to a large extent.” It’s  an eco-friendly unit,” he said. He added gas bank has come up and 6 cylinders (each containing 50 kg LPG) will be used for cremating the bodies. Fire will be ignited automatically once the body is pushed inside the chamber.

The ghat general secretary informed cremation of bodies in gas-powered facility will begin from tomorrow (Monday).

Cost of cremating a body in the gas- fired facility is Rs 3,500. It will take about an hour for the body to get reduced into ashes. The cost for cremating a body in an electric furnace at the ghat is Rs 1,700 while it is Rs 3,300 for completing the formalities by using wooden logs. However, the cost rises to about Rs 5,000 for using wood for cremation due to added expenses.

The furnace has been erected by Ahmedabad-based Shivan Furnace while the project has been executed by Dhiman Buch. The architectural aspects of the facility have been taken care of by Nalin Goel.

Established  in 1925, Parvati Ghat has undergone improvements. The tin shed (for cremation ) came up in 1932. Prem Sehgal, Navin Parikh, Rajendra Amin and  DP Singh were instrumental in the initial development of  Parvati Ghat.

The first electric furnace came up in 1999 while the second was in place in 2015.

Around 4,000 dead bodies are cremated annually in Parvati ghat (3,400 by wooden logs and 1,600 in electric furnaces).