We took part in many workshops, seminars and conferences at a time when incinerators were the hot topic!

On one such occasion, it was a meeting of the Indian Medical Association in Bangalore. There were a hundred doctors and the key topic of discussion was `to incinerate or not`. There was objection from everyone to incinerate. `Smoke, dust and pollution will spoil the environment; there are no trained operators; we do not have money; good incinerators are not made; look at the examples from the western countries` and so on.

The main objection was pollution. After many speakers gave their opinion against incineration, one of the oldest doctors from the group got up and signaled for everyone to stop talking and said `I would like to answer your questions. First of all, are we not advancing in industrialization? Are there not more vehicles on the roads? If we have to control pollution and still maintain our life styles, we have to bring in legislation and ensure its compliance. As for as `incineration or not` is concerned, in this country we have always burnt the dead and continue to do so. What is wrong, therefore, if we incinerate`?

This brought silence from all quarters. People understood that to get rid of infection and spreading of disease, we Indians mostly burnt the dead. We have to be more disciplined when it comes to following rules.

Many such meetings ended with the understanding that incineration is the solution but it has to be implemented without any damage to the environment or creating other issues.