Damak, Aug 17: An electric crematorium has been constructed at Kankai Ghat in Kankai Municipality-4, Jhapa.

The project, costing NPR 23 million, was completed on the eastern bank of the Kankai River with support from the Koshi Province government, Kankai Municipality, and various donors. The Koshi Province government contributed NPR 20 million, the municipality NPR 2 million, and donors NPR 1 million.

Rajendra Kumar Pokharel, Chief of Kankai Municipality, said that the municipality will operate the electric crematorium under an agreement with the provincial government. “We have already developed operational procedures for the crematorium,” he said, “and it will be officially operational within a week.”

Gopal Kharel, General Secretary of the Kankai Ghat Management Committee and Coordinator of the Electric Crematorium Infrastructure Committee, stated that an Indian technical team has completed the construction work and returned.

During testing on Shrawan 27, the body of 80-year-old Hemati Rajbanshi from Panthapada, Jhapa Rural Municipality, was cremated using the facility. He noted that it takes about 50 minutes to cremate a body in the electric crematorium, compared to three to three-and-a-half hours using traditional wood-based cremation.

The Koshi Province government had allocated NPR 20 million in the FY 2081/82 budget for constructing an electric crematorium on the Kankai River in collaboration with local authorities.

With construction completed, local demand for an electric crematorium along the Kankai River has been addressed. Currently, five cremation sites operate at Kankai Ghat, established in 2067 BS. Once operational, the electric crematorium will save wood and time in cremations and contribute to environmental protection.

People’s News Monitoring Service