‘No religious issue as cow dung used for centuries’

NEW DELHI: A team of 40 IIT Delhi students has devised a way to fight air pollution - by replacing wood with cow dung "logs" during funerals.The "environment-friendly technique" also seeks to reduce deforestation by cutting down dependence on wood. " Arth , an initiative by Enactus IIT-D, targets replacing wood as a fuel at Delhi's crematoriums," said Faraz Mazhar, a member of the group.According to his teammate, Shalaka Patil, each of India's over 7 million cremations every year requires about 400kg wood. "Therefore, there is a need for an alternative fuel that is not only renewable but also minimises pollution," she said.During a survey, the team found that at times 50 cremations - mostly using wood - take place at Nigambodh Ghat simultaneously. They also got to know that several gaushalas and dairies in the city face an acute problem of disposing of cow dung."Many of them have no option but to dump the dung in waterbodies or in empty plots," Patil said.This, according to Mazhar, leads to pollution and clogging of waterbodies and land spaces. "This also creates unhygienic conditions in gaushalas for both cattle and workers." Arth attempts to resolve both problems at the same time, Mazhar added.The team has developed a prototype drying machine based on the “greenhouse” principle — it traps heat and takes the temperature inside to upwards of 50ºC. “The dried dung is then passed through a log-making machine,” said Raj, a mechanical engineering student.Last December, the team tested the fuel during the cremation of an unclaimed body at Nigambodh Ghat. “We saw positive results — there was less pollution and the process was smooth. We are now working on manufacturing a machine that will help us produce more logs,” Raj said.Awadesh Sharma, in charge of Nigambodh Ghat, said the initiative “could become a viable option in the coming future”. Although the burning ghat has both wood and CNG facilities, most people prefer wood as they burn better, he said. “If we have enough dung ‘logs’, we can push for a third option.” People shouldn’t be concerned about the use of these “logs” due to religious reasons “as cow dung has been used in cremation for centuries and even now villagers use it during funerals”, said Sharma.