Working on a unique idea floated by Suhani, an environment savvy young student, the Municipal Corporation Mohali has set up a machine to prepare cow dung logs and supply to the crematorium in Mohali.
Suhani Sharma, Student of class XI, Delhi Public School, Chandigarh took up cudgels to raise funds and get this cow-dung log making machine for the Gaushala, Industrial Area Phase 1 Mohali.
Sharing her views, Suhani said, “We should plant trees in our lifetime to replenish our green belts and not cut trees to dispose of our mortal remains.My grandfather was very close to me and when he died this April, we took him to our paternal home in Jaipur for his last rites.
There, I learned about the use of cow dung briquettes for cremation.I also learnt that about 500 kg of wood, equivalent to two trees, is needed to cremate one body.
This wood is obtained from trees indigenous to the Indian continent like the mango, neem, banyan and peepal which can live up to 400 years but to fulfil our needs, these trees are cut at a tender age of 15-20 years.
"During my visits to Gaushalas, I had realised that a large part of the cow-dung tends to be thrown away in landfills or roadsides and these cow dung briquettes are a much cleaner alternative to wood.
They produce significantly fewer emissions, and they are also a renewable resource. For the last three months, I studied the various models of the machinery available for this purpose and shared my ideas at various forums and finally succeeded in arranging this machinery.”
Kiran Sharma, the *Joint Commissioner*, MC Mohali said, “Suhani had been visiting the Gaushala with her school friends. And she pitched this idea of making cow dung briquettes so that we can reduce our reliance on wood.
We encouraged her and promised our support for this eco-friendly endeavour in terms of providing space in the Gaushala. Our Gaushala produces about 2.5 tons of Gobar (Cow Dung) every day.
We use some of it for vermicomposting and making pots and diyas. Still over 1.5 tons of gobar can be spared for making logs to be used in the crematorium”
From the in-charge Mohali Crematorium, “The calorific value of the gobar briquettes is higher than the wood. 250-300 kg of briquettes will be sufficient to cremate one body. With the current pace of supply of briquettes from the Gaushala, 50% usage of wood would cut down.”
Mrs Navjot Kaur, MC Commissioner commended Suhani Sharma for her spirited environment friendly efforts and said,” This is the need of the hour. And it is heartening to see the young generation leading the way.
On our part, it is very satisfying to execute this project. Many crematoriums across the country are adopting this eco-friendly initiative and we are happy to join the bandwagon.
We are further exploring to mix grated coconut husk which has high calorific value, in the cow-dung logs. In this manner, we will be able to take care of another component of our solid waste.”
When Suhani was asked about her future plans, she said,"I wish to take this initiative to the whole State of Punjab and across our country. I would request our community to accept this way of honourably bidding goodbye to our departed ones.
The government must also formulate policies to sponsor funding for the briquette making machines and mandate its usage. The Corporate sector should also come forward to sponsor this initiative.”