Source: The Guardian
LONDON, ENGLAND, August 21, 2002: Bradford’s Hindu Cultural Society has submitted a proposal to Bradford Council to allow a small stretch of the River Aire at Apperley Bridge to be used for the scattering of ashes after a traditional Hindu funeral. A spokesman for the cultural society says, “Most of our community still travel to India for the purpose. But using the river Aire would allow those who can’t afford it to also scatter ashes. Whether the river is the Aire, the Congo, the Nile or the Ganges, they all flow into the sea. Hindu scriptures portray the sea as carrying the ashes — which have the consistency of fine dust — to their final, heavenly destination.” Jane Glaister, director of arts, heritage and leisure for Bradford says, “We have been approached by representatives of the local Hindu and Sikh communities about the possibility of allowing part of the Aire, and we are talking to both groups and the environmental agency.”