A biomass gasifier crematorium that costs Rs.45 lakh is set to be inaugurated in the Swarg Dham cremation ground in Alwal on December 24, a press release from the crematorium said on Tuesday.

The crematorium uses wood chips instead of electricity to incinerate the dead bodies, but functions as effectively as an electric crematorium, the note said. Compared with the conventional cremation methods, it is 50 per cent economical and eco-friendly, it claimed.

Coming to the functioning of the crematorium, four-inch pieces of wood will be put in the hopper of the biomass gasifier which, when fired with a limited amount of oxygen, will produce gas.

The gas will be channelized to the cremation furnace where it will generate fire energy to incinerate the body between 800 and 1,100 degrees temperature.

The process of cremation will be completed in about 60 to 90 minutes depending on the body size and other biological factors, the note said.

Chairman of the Swarg Dham project Rajwant Singh Gulati claimed that this would be the first ever biomass gasifier crematorium to be set up in the State.