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| A screen grab of a Tower of Silence |
The declining population of vultures, which consume the dead at the Silent Tower, has prompted many Parsis to explore alternative ways to dispose off the corpses.
A Parsi association has built a new crematorium and prayer hall in Mumbai at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore, which will become fully functional later this month.
Parsi priests, who had earlier opposed any alternative to the Silent Tower are now growing receptive to the crematorium. The Indian Express reported that a group of seven to eight Parsi priests have agreed to conduct the last rites of those who would be cremated.
Silent Towers, where dead bodies are left to be consumed by vultures is seen as an individual’s final act of charity, are integral to the Parsi way if life.
But as the number of vultures have been on the decline, it has been taking even weeks for the bodies to fully decompose.