COVID-19: IIT Ropar Develops Moveable Electric Cremation; May Reduce Burden On Crematoriums

Harpreet Singh, the Dean of IIT Ropar, said that the disposal is completed in 12 hours as compared to 48 hours. The incinerator heats at 1,044 degrees Celsius, ensuring complete sterilization. The portability of the cart ensures that it can be transported without much effort, reported LiveMint.

"Usually wood costs about ₹2,500 for disposing of a body, and poor families sometimes try to get by with much less and end up having to dispose of partially burnt bodies, or even whole corpses, in rivers," the dean said.

The cart is also functional using LPG on domestic gas cylinders. "We are providing the simplest and cheapest way of cremation, which can be performed within half of the wood required now and can reduce the carbon footprint by half," said Harjinder Singh Cheema, MD, Cheema Boilers Ltd. He added that if the system could be adopted, it might provide respectable cremation to the near and dear ones of those who could not afford wood.