KATHMANDU: An electric crematorium building has formally come into operation from Sunday. The building was brought into operation by the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT).

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ananda Pokharel inaugurated the building at a programme organised by PADT here on Sunday.

On the occasion, Minister Pokharel said the building would help make the Pashupatinath area pollution-free and expressed belief that it would be affordable and eco-friendly.

He stressed the need of advancing Pashupati as a spiritual hub while pledging to take initiatives to allocate budget for the construction of VIP building in the next fiscal year for the purpose of offering worship.

Member Secretary of the PADT Dr Govinda Tondon expressed happiness over the success for the construction of the building after 33-year-long struggle and added that they are on preparation to run the service round the clock in the first six months.

The Adarsh Temple and Marwadi Sewa Samiti on Sunday made announcement to provide with financial aid to cremate the unattended bodies.

The government is also planning to extend the service at different places including Lalitpur and Balkhu. Some 40 dead bodies could be cremated through electric machine in a day as it takes only 45 minutes for the same.

The building was constructed at a total cost of Rs 110 million provided by the government as a grant.