Recently, a piece of news has been circulating on social media platforms which alleges that Imran Hussain, the Environment Minister of Delhi said that the practice of cremation after death in Hinduism is the main reason for pollution in the National Capital Region. This post was put out by a page called ‘Acche Din’
और कुछ कहना बाकी है?
Achhe Din ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಗುರುವಾರ, ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ 5, 2019
Pollution spreads in Delhi by burning Hindu Body (चिता)
Imran Hussain, Environment Minister, #AAP Government of Delhi pic.twitter.com/oca6YHBRNd
— Aᴊɪᴛ Dᴏᴠᴀʟ (@TheAjitDovalNSA) December 6, 2019
Fact Check
According to a Business Standard report, Hussain had made this statement in a letter to Union Minister for Environment Anil Madhav Dave in 2017 where he requested the minister to formulate a policy for green crematoriums. He had mentioned in the letter that it is necessary to convert wood and manure-based crematoriums to green crematoriums, as the former is a significant contributor to pollution in Delhi. Hussain had also added that the Delhi government has taken steps to convert conventional crematoriums to green ones, which include smoke tapping device.
“In an effort to address the issue, the government of NCT of Delhi has recently undertaken extensive measures to modify the designs of traditional crematoria into green ones with smoke tappers. CSIR National Environment Engineering Research Institute is being tasked with the work of creating engineering designs for creating such non-polluting crematoria,” Mr Hussain has said in a letter to the centre.
In fact, many other platforms such as Postcard News and Hindu Post had shared the same news with the wrong context two years back.
Conclusion
The statements made by Hussain have been quoted out of context and given a communal spin, and an old issue has been raked up without context. Hence, the posts put up by these pages and websites are misleading. He has advocated building green crematoriums so that the pollution level in Delhi comes down.
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