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Ashes to ashes, dust to dust... then used as dishwash

Utensil cleaners come in every form, every shape, every colour and every fragrance. The manufacturers spend big money in endorsing their products.

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Procured from city crematoriums at Rs5 per kilo, it doubles up as a good fertiliser

MUMBAI: Utensil cleaners come in every form, every shape, every colour and every fragrance. The manufacturers spend big money in endorsing their products. And yet, one particular variety - unheard of before and never advertised - seems to have made its mark in this ever burgeoning market.

People who use it, claim it is the best of the lot. It has not chemical in it, they vouch. It’s made from ashes, easily procured from the city crematoriums for just Rs5 per kilogram. It doubles up as a very good fertiliser.

Ramsingh Siras, a social worker, came to know about this “thriving business” at a South Mumbai crematorium. He told DNA, “There is no taker for ash when an unclaimed dead body is cremated.  The crematorium employees can not go on storing ash, they need to get rid of it. So, they sell it to the poor at Rs5 per kg.”

To verify Siras’ claim, DNA visited Chandanwadi electric crematorium last week. This scribe asked a staff how to procure some ash. “Do you need it for farming?” he shot back. Getting an affirmative answer, he said, “Come back after four days.” This scribe did as he was told, but this time the man said, “We don’t sell the ash.” Perhaps, he had seen through the masquerade.

 M Pereira, another social worker, said, “Police are paid Rs200 for every unclaimed body to perform the final rites. They are expected to cremate each of these bodies with dignity, in the presence of a purohit. But trust them not to do it. They don’t even bother to dress up the bodies, which are brought naked from the post-mortem table to the crematorium. We raised the issue five years ago, but no action was taken.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone V) DM Fadtare said, “In my area, there is no such crematorium where unclaimed bodies are cremated. I won’t make any comment about the trade, as I know nothing about it. But even if it is there, I don’t see how can cops do anything about it.”

Fadtare pointed out that it was the responsibility of the municipal corporation to ensure crematoriums disposed of the ash in a proper manner.

The crematoriums are managed by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Chief health officer Dr Jayraj Thanekar, who is in charge of the crematoriums, said, “We have appointed conservative contractors to collect the ash.

They carry out their job at regular intervals.”
 
t_kiran@dnaindia.net

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