SC seeks green crematorium near Taj

The apex court had in the previous hearing asked the State to respond by December 14 whether the crematorium could be shifted.

The Supreme Court on Monday asked Uttar Pradesh to explore the possibility of introducing more electric furnaces at the crematorium next to the Taj Mahal and offer last rite services free of cost to save the historic monument. It was responding to the government’s stand that shifting the crematorium will hurt “religious sentiments.”

The crematorium caught the Supreme Court’s attention recently when sitting apex court judge Justice Kurian Joseph wrote to the Chief Justice of India that smoke and ash emanating from funeral pyres may cause further damage to the 17th Century monument and UNESCO World Heritage site. Justice Joseph wrote that the wind direction often played havoc and caused the smoke and ash to fly towards the Taj Mahal. This, he pointed out, was “among the major identified causes for the deterioration of the physical lustre, which ultimately may even pose a threat to the stability of the structure.”

The apex court, acting on the letter, had in the previous hearing asked the State to respond by December 14 whether the crematorium could be shifted.

The State government said there was scientific proof that smoke from the pyres had affected the Taj physically. The Advocate-General said the State administration was, however, apprehensive that shifting the centuries-old cremation site would hurt “religious sentiments.”

The court then said the government should consider using technology to reduce carbon emission from the existing electrical furnace. It could also build more such furnaces and offer free cremation services. “If you make it free, more people will opt for it. Do it for the sake of the monument,” Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur said.

At one point during the hearing, Chief Justice Thakur expressed shock when a senior government official said that there were at least four cremation services every day and “half-burnt” bodies were removed and placed on a tray to make space for others.

“We are shocked by what you are saying. Please do not disrespect the dead,” the Chief Justice warned the official.

‘Beautify areas’

The Bench, also comprising Justice C. Nagappan, asked the State government to frame a comprehensive scheme to beautify the areas around the crematorium, including landscaping, “to soften the blow dealt by the “harsh reality of life”. Justice Kurian’s letter had come up for hearing as part of a long-pending petition filed by noted environment lawyer M.C. Mehta highlighting the threat of air pollution around Agra’s grand symbol of love.

High level of garbage burning to blame for Taj yellowing

One of the major threats to the Taj Mahal - a high level of particulate matter (PM) responsible for masking the white marble sheen - is being released into air on account of large scale burning of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the city. A joint study by the University of Minnesota and Georgia Institute of Technology to find a pattern in open burning of garbage within Indian cities has revealed that Agra burns a whopping 24% of its waste as compared to Delhi's mere 2-3%. 

According to the findings of the present study, the total municipal solid waste being burnt in Delhi on a daily basis is estimated to be about 190-246 tonnes per day out of total 8,390 tonnes generated. In Agra, it is 223 tonnes per day out of 923 tonnes. 

Notably, in December last year, a joint study by IIT-Kanpur, Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Wisconsin had revealed that brown and black carbons along with dust are responsible for giving yellow tinge to the 17 century white marble monument. Subsequent to the report, the parliamentary standing committee on environment passed several directions to the Agra administration to curb pollution in the city.

The present study was carried out by Ajay Nagpure, a post-doctorate associate at the science technology and environmental policy program of University of Minnesota, under the supervision of Prof Anu Ramaswami, chair professor of environmental policy at the varsity. The team collaborated with Prof Armistead G Russell from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Nagpure said the burning of MSW releases a high amount of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), which are responsible for damaging the aesthetics of a culturally important monument, like the Taj Mahal. Moreover, short- and long-term exposure to these pollutants is associated with a number of health impacts, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, adverse birth outcomes and cancer."

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has identified PM2.5, specifically, as a Group 1 human carcinogen. Most recently, estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study indicate that outdoor articulate pollution is the fifth major cause of premature death and disability-adjusted life years lost in India after high blood pressure, indoor air pollution, tobacco smoking, and poor nutrition, with about 6,95,000 premature deaths estimated per year.



For the study, three neighbourhoods in Delhi - one with low socioeconomic status (SES) and with very little infrastructure for waste collection (Brijpuri), and two others that had adequate waste collection services and were mid-high (Jangpura) and of high-socioeconomic status (Safdarjung Enclave) were chosen.

The study then focused on the method to try to estimate waste burning across the whole city of Delhi, and also to compare with Agra. The researchers then made the Delhi estimation based on Summer-Winter data from 2014 and 2015. For Agra and Delhi - the comparison is based on summer measurements conducted between May and June in 2015.

The highest rate of 130 incidents of MSW burning per sq km was in seen in Brijpuri in Delhi that had very poor waste collection services. As expected, with no good options, waste burning incidence was high in Brijpuri in both winter and summer.

The other two areas showed lower waste burning, but it was not zero, even though they did have adequate collection and pick-up service. Jangpura had lower waste burning as compared to Safdarjung Enclave.

Head post office releases limited edition Taj postcard

The head post office in Agra released a limited edition postcard featuring the Taj Mahal. 

Ranbir Singh, senior postmaster at the head post office in Agra, said: "Only 500 copies of the new Taj Mahal postcard have been printed so far." 

Besides, the postal department has also prepared postcards of 13 cities situated on banks of Ganga and Yamuna. These new postcards will be displayed in Uttarpex 2015, an Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand zonal philatelic exhibition, which will be held from October 30 to November 2, 2015 at Lalit Kala Academy, Lucknow. 

Cities on the new postcards are: Yamunotri, Sharanpur, Mathura, Agra, Gangotri, Rishikesh, Shukratal, Ahar, Rajghat, Kakoda, Kannauj and Bithoor. The list also includes Allahabad, the point of confluence of both rivers.