As per the Hindu tradition after death the mortal remains of a human are confined to the holy fire "The Agni". Traditionally wood and dung cakes are used to cremate the dead body. In a traditional arrangement adopted for cremation normally about 250 to 300 kilos of wood besides a few kilos of dung cakes are consumed per dead body - meaning each dead body needs about 5 to 6 times its weight of wood for its cremation. As a result annually lakhs of tons of wood is destroyed for this inevitable activity. It is estimated that in Gujarat annually over 2 lakhs trees are being cut down for providing wood for cremation alone.

The Improved Crematoria developed in Gujarat exhibited a potential of saving about 40 to 50% of wood consumed for cremation. The activity, which earlier required about 250 to 300 kilos, could now be accomplished with 140 to 160 kilos only. Hence a saving of 100 to 150 kilos of wood per cremation. The solution is a simple pre-fabricated cremation bed against the traditional method in which the pyre is set directly on the floor.

PROMOTION OF EFFICIENT WOOD CREMATORIA IN GUJARAT

The Forest Department, Govt. of Gujarat and Gujarat Energy Development Agency have been promoting use of improved designs of Wood-based Efficient Crematoria in Gujarat since last two decades. The two designs are pre-fabricated cradle-like iron structures designed to provide proper aeration for efficient combustion.

DESIGN & TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

The design being propagated by GEDA is built up of cast iron and mild-steel components and weighs about 430 kilos. The Forest design is fully caste weighing around 750 to 800 kilos.

As shown in the sketch it is a cast iron cradle made up of cast iron (CI) sidebars and fire bars, supported by a heavy mild-steel (MS) frame structure. The sidebars and fire bars are secured by heady duty bolts & nuts. The overall dimension of the crematoria is 1950 mm X 905 mm X 820 mm. Weight of cast iron components is used is about 325 to 330 kilos and that of mild-steel is about 100 to 110 kilos. The total structure is laid on a PCC floor and can be either grouted or secured using foundation bolts. The components of the crematoria are as listed below:

1.Side bars/plates	CI	12 nos.
2.Fire bar/plates	CI	8 nos.
3.Vertical Supports	MS	6 nos.
4.Horizon. Supports	MS	2 nos.
5.Nut/bolt sets	MS	88 nos.