"FIRED up over new crematorium" (News Without Borders, Nov 3) refers. The protesting residents are worried that their health and peace will be affected by work on the crematorium.
They claim that the proposed building does not meet the Department of Environment (DOE) requirement for a 200m buffer zone.
The Hindu Devastanam Paripalana Sabah in Ipoh and the state authorities should look into the residents' concerns seriously and work out an amicable solution. We should not ignore the genuine fears and grouses of the affected residents. The authorities and community leaders should help settle the issue.
The affected residents on their part should be reasonable and take into consideration the needs of Hindus living in Ipoh. There is no Hindu crematorium in Ipoh.
Hindus who wish to cremate the remains of their loved ones have to travel far to perform the rites and that too in non-Hindu crematorium grounds.
Many Hindus that I have talked to are generally happy and grateful to the state government for the funding allocated to the Hindu Devastanam Sabah of Ipoh for the crematorium.
They are also concerned for the affected residents and are hoping that a win-win solution could be worked out soon so that work on the crematorium can proceed without any further delay.
It must be pointed out that modern crematoriums are fitted with high-tech gadgets to mitigate all kinds of pollution emitted during the incineration process. These crematoriums are said to be environment friendly and safe for city folk's needs.
Furthermore, crematoriums are inspected regularly by the relevant authorities to ensure their safety and that it is operated by adequately trained and supervised personnel. Many of these crematoriums follow stringent operating procedures.
As such the residents should not be unduly worried of the safety and health aspects.
Those who wish to continue with the traditional way of cremating corpses can always do so in other open Hindu cremation grounds elsewhere in Ipoh or in its surrounding areas.
On behalf of the Hindu public I appeal to all parties concerned to put their differences aside and work towards an amicable solution.
I urge the DOE to review some of its guidelines on buffer zone requirements (for building crematoriums). With the advance of modern science and technology we have state of the art crematoriums and incinerators that are safe to be built and operated near human habitats.
S. Param
Ipoh
Source : http://www.thesundaily.my/node/279802
