Click for larger viewAn organisation of North American Hindus has asked that four Ontario rivers, including the Niagara River (and, therewith, Niagara Falls), be designated for religious disposal of cremated bodies.

The Niagara River would be ideal for the scattering of ashes because of its fast-flowing water and proximity to the Greater Toronto Area, said Roopnauth Sharma, president of the United Hindu Federation of Canada.

However, Sharma stressed the Niagara River is being floated among several other possible candidates in the GTA.
. . .
Sharma, head of Mississauga's Shri Ram temple, is working on the initiative with Ontario's Government Services Ministry, which regulates cemeteries and burials.

If the plan is implemented, the selected rivers would serve as local substitutes for India’s Ganges River.

There are no laws against scattering cremated remains into public bodies of water in Ontario. The Hindu community is hoping to bring more order to the practice by identifying rivers where people could hold brief ceremonies.

If Ontario has no laws restricting scattering of ashes in rivers, why does the government have to get involved?  Why can’t the “United” Hindu Federation of Canada members work it out for themselves?

I can see potential problems if ”brief ceremonies” entail construction of shrines.

Persecution Update India points out that Hindu groups in India have agitated for laws barring non-Hindus from entering certain holy places with temples and crematoria.  At least one state government has obliged.

h/t: Persecution Update India

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