State-run energy major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is on a crusade to save more trees and prevent the earth from global warming through ‘Harit Moksha’ (Green Heaven) which is soon to be launched at Chas in Bokaro Steel City.
A team of the ONGC CBM division Bokaro led by CGM NC Pandey visited the site at Chas.
‘Harit Moksha’ is a green cremation system to conduct the last rites in traditional style; a novel way to conserve energy as well as environment, said Pandey. "Under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of ONGC this cremation system would come up at the burning ghat Chas with an estimated cost of Rs40 lakh. Each and every year the statistics of felling trees to use in the last rites is surprising. We lose about 2 lakh hectares just for felling trees for burning dead bodies," he added.
‘Harit Moksha’ is capable of saving wood up to 75 per cent besides reducing air and river pollution significantly. Due to much lesser wood burning, this system not only helps reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and thereby mitigating global warming but also makes cremation process affordable to economically weaker sections of the society, said Gopal Murarka the founder of Helping Hands.
“With the help of efficient wood-based crematoria, which will be culturally more acceptable to our people, we will be able to save more trees," said an ONGC official. Only 100 kgs of wood is required as against 400 kgs in the conventional method and take about two hours only for a complete cremation creating minimum damage to air and water.
“All rituals like ‘Tarpan’, ‘Mukhagani’, Kapalkriya including others can be performed in a traditional manner without affecting the religious faith of the people. When completed, the project would help to save about 14,000 tonnes of wood beside reducing 25,000 tonnes of (CO2) GHG emissions annually," said the official.