Eco Moksha, a crematorium in Santa Cruz (W), Bombay that uses piped natural gas instead of traditional wood for the final rites has takers across followers of all religions, including Zoroastrianism. Housed within the Bombay Municipal Corporation’s Hindu Cemetery, a total of 1,758 bodies, including those of 34 Catholics, four Parsis and three Muslims have been cremated at Eco Moksha since it was set up in October 2016, according to caretaker Viral Trivedi, quoted in mid-day (MD) report of May 12, 2019. "The last rituals and prayers are done with full honors by the respective priests as per the wishes of the bereaved families,” he said.
Last rites for a Zoroastrian at Eco Moksha green crematorium Photo: Senior Citizens SantaCruz (Paschim) Sanstha
Bharat Shah, president of the Senior Citizens SantaCruz (Paschim) Sanstha (SCSPS) under whose auspices the crematorium was set up at a cost of three crore rupees, told Parsiana on May 27, that their facility is ISO certified. Proud of the fact that the crematorium was inaugurated by the governor of Maharashtra, C. Vidyasagar Rao, Shah said that this "shows how important the project is.” The president said that the crematorium has facilities to stream the last rites via web cameras to mourners who cannot be physically present. The website of the facility notes that their 5,000 sq ft building houses two furnaces, a stainless steel platform for last rites and a hall that can accommodate 120 mourners. Nagin Shah, secretary of SCSPS told MD that the idea behind Eco Moksha was to reach out to everyone, without barriers of caste, creed and religion.
The crematorium has started collecting flowers used to cover the bodies to make vermi-compost, Bharat told MD. Shawls and other linen used to cover bodies are sterilized and distributed to street dwellers, noted the report. Apart from opening the crematorium to people of all faiths, bodies of pavement dwellers, which are brought in by the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, are also cremated here, notes the report.
One Iqbal, "whose Parsi family members Ratan and Dhanjishah Mehta” were cremated at Eco Moksha told MD that he found the entire experience "a pleasant one.”