Cuttack: A shelter for cows (gaushala) here is adding value to the dung produced at the facility by using it to produce firewood substitute-log like hollow cylindrical blocks.
Sri Gopal Kishen Gaushala at Naya Bazaar area here has set up the machines at the facility to produce these logs like cylindrical blocks of cow dung which can be used as substitutes for firewood used for cremation purposes. The gaushala has procured the machines from Punjab.
“I actually saw this machine on Whatsapp. It’s manufactured in Punjab. I inquired from the manufacturer and found out that this can be used in place of firewood. Then we bought this machine. This machine is simple there is nothing much technical in it,” informed Prasad Kandoi, general secretary of Sri Gopal Kishen Gaushala.
These cylindrical blocks made of cow dung can be used as a firewood substitute-for cremation of the dead, he added.
“It’s working fine for cremation. Over 10 corpses have been cremated at the Khannagar cremation ground using this,” said Kandoi.
“At present, we haven’t fixed any price for this product. People are offering around Rs 1,000-Rs 1,500 for the number of blocks required to cremate a body,” he added.
“Fresh cow dung is left for 10-15 days for the water to drain, then it is dumped in the machine which compresses it to pass through plastic pipes, the output obtained is then dried in the Sun for 15-20 days,” a worker of the facility said explaining the process.