Prayagraj: The pyre wood sellers at the crematoriums in the city are finding it difficult to create a buffer stock to meet the increased demand as the number of bodies coming for cremation has shot up.
Since the demand for pyre wood has increased manifold in the past fortnight, the prices have also gone up steeply, so much so that there have been instances of heated discussion between mourners and the wood sellers.
The cremation grounds at Daraganj Ghat, Rasoolabad ghat and Phaphamau, which handle the bulk of funerals, have sought additional stock of wood from Trans-Ganga, -Yamuna areas and neighbouring Kaushambi.
Shyam, a wood stockist at Daraganj ghat, told TOI, “The demand has suddenly shot up in the past fortnight and we are buying wood from Trans-Ganga, -Yamuna and Kaushambi. The price of wood has also increased by Rs 300 to 400 per quintal.”
He also said, “Earlier we used to keep 500-600 quintals wood and were able to meet demand, but had to increase our stock to 800 to 900 quintals after the rise in demand. Our suppliers have hiked prices due to surge in demand and so we have passed it on to our customers.”
A wood seller at Phaphamau ghat said, “Around four-five quintals of wood is required for one cremation. Since the rates of wood have increased, the cost of wood for one cremation has shot up to Rs 6,000 to 8,000 from Rs 3,000 to 4,000 earlier.”
Mourners think they are being overcharged and some videos of heated arguments over prices have gone viral on social media. In some instances, the kin of the dead were forced to carry wood on their personal vehicles to ghats for cremation as sellers refused to provide any transportation.
Police and local administration have also received complaints of overcharging. A senior official said policemen have been assigned duty to check overcharging and action would be in case any overpricing comes to light.
The electronic crematoriums have also been working round-the-clock for the past five days. An official posted at the Daraganj electric crematorium said, “The number of bodies coming for creation has doubled since April 14.”