The Pune Municipal Corporation reportedly closed the city's gas crematoriums following restrictions on the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) components such as propane and butane amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.
LPG is a mixture of propane and butane. The US-Israel war on Iran has disrupted oil and natural gas exports from the Middle East.
The Pune civic body was quoted by news agency PTI as saying, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued an order on March 5 directing that available propane and butane be prioritised for domestic LPG supply across the country.
In view of the resulting gas shortage, the Pune Municipal Corporation has decided to keep its gas crematoriums closed from March 5 until further orders, a civic official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
To avoid inconvenience to people, electric crematoriums and wood-fired facilities equipped with air pollution control systems will continue to function, the official added.
At the Vaikunth crematorium in the city, three gas-fired furnaces will remain shut temporarily, while five electric furnaces at the facility will remain operational for public use, the civic body said.