Stories
Ashes of parents wait for busy children at Kanpur ashes bank
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News18•08-10-2026, 13:48
Ashes of parents wait for busy children at Kanpur ashes bank
- •More than 24 urns containing human ashes have been kept at the Bhairav Ghat ashes bank in Kanpur for months and even years.
- •While the facility normally stores ashes for about 30 days, several urns have been left uncollected as families failed to return.
- •The ashes urn bank, operated by Yug Dadhichi Dehdaan Sansthan, ensures the remains are worshipped from time to time.
- •In one heartbreaking case, the ashes of a retired government officer who passed away 7 months ago still await his sons, who are settled abroad and in South India.
Key Questions Answered
The ashes urn bank is located at Bhairav Ghat (and Sarsaiyya Ghat) in Kanpur and is operated by the Yug Dadhichi Dehdaan Sansthan social organization, housing more than 24 unclaimed urns whose final immersion is pending.
Normally, the facility has an arrangement to safely keep the ashes for about 30 days, after which relatives usually take them for immersion, though some urns have remained uncollected for up to 6 years.
The officer passed away in March and left behind three sons who live away; although one son briefly came, he left the ashes behind, has not returned after 7 months, and merely offered to send money for someone else to complete the immersion.
