PRAYAGRAJ, Oct. 1 -- The Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to set up three new electric crematoriums within city limits to encourage wider use of eco-friendly cremation facilities. The city already has three operational crematoriums. PMC chief engineer Dinesh Sachan said that land was being identified for the upcoming facilities. "We already have functional crematoriums at Daraganj, Shanker Ghat in Teliyarganj and Phaphamau. The new ones will be set up in Kanhaipur of Dhoomanganj, Arail in Naini, and Chatnag in Jhunsi," he said. Sachan added that land for the Kanhaipur crematorium had nearly been finalised and construction would soon begin. It is expected to become operational by next year. For the two other proposed sites in Arail and Chatnag, land along the banks of the Ganga is being searched, after which construction will start. Executive engineer Anil Maurya said that 1,000 square yards of land in Kanhaipur had been earmarked and work was in progress. "The project has a budget of Rs 2.5 crore and will be completed by the beginning of next year. The crematorium will have the capacity to cremate one body at a time, taking about 30 minutes, with a maximum capacity of 15 bodies daily," he said. Currently, each of the three functional crematoriums in the city handles five to six bodies daily. Traditional cremation requires about five quintals of wood per body, costing around Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500. "On average, 20 to 25 bodies are cremated daily at various ghats in Rasulabad, Daraganj, Phaphamau, Arail, Kanhaipur, and Jhunsi. This consumes over 100 quintals of wood every day," Raju Pant, who assists in traditional cremations, said. In comparison, electric crematoriums cost around Rs 450 per cremation, nearly one-tenth of the traditional method, and help reduce air pollution. Corporator and environmentalist Kamlesh Singh stressed the need for public awareness campaigns to promote electric cremation. "I had urged senior officials to start awareness drives and speed up the construction of new facilities," he said....