Families earning a living from a cremation ground in Varanasi

Families earning a living from a cremation ground in Varanasi
                                              By Girish Kumar Dubey

 Sat, 11/14/2009 - 13:34.

Varanasi, Nov. 14 : Apart from functioning round the clock as a cremation ground, the ''Manikarnika Ghat'' is also a source of income for many families.

Everyday, at least four hundred funerals take place at the Manikarnika Ghat, which stands out for its mythological importance.

"Souls of the people cremated here attain salvation as soon as their remains are immersed in holy Ganges," claimed Saidvagish Dutt Mishra, a priest practicing on the ghat.

It provides steady income to the priests and others.

"Families are exclusively dependent upon the earnings from the funeral processions on the cremation ground. Funerals provide livelihood and the families could even conduct marriages from the income coming directly from the crematorium." Said Gajanan Chowdry, a conductor at the cremation ground.

People even take half burnt wood for use at home.

"We take wood to the crematorium and then prepare the pyre. We wait for the incineration to complete and if some wood is left partly combusted we take it to our household to use it as fuel." said Ramchandar a labourer. (ANI)