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NGO urges use of electric pyres, submits memo to CM

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 1 - Environmental NGO Early Birds has urged Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to facilitate replacing of firewood with electric or gas pyres in all the crematoriums across the State.

In a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Early Birds president Moloy Baruah said the process should start at the district and subdivisional headquarters.

Given Assam�s population of around 3.50 crore and the death and birth rates of 8 and 25 per cent respectively, the daily deaths would be around 4,600. Thus, the daily requirement of firewood for pyres would be 13,800 quintals every day (three quintals of firewood are required to cremate one person).

Referring to a newspaper article by the then Forest Minister Pradyut Bardoloi that every day 10,000 truckloads of timber of the State find their way to the markets, Baruah said that the only solution to ease the severe pressure on the State�s forests would be to convert all the crematoriums into electric- and gas-based ones.

Early Birds expressed resentment over the defunct status of electric and gas pyres in the Bhootnath and Navagraha crematoriums respectively, and urged the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) to take immediate measures to make those functional.

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