When the markets are facing shortage of hand sanitisers in the wake of cornonavirus pandemic, the mahapurohit (head priest) of Battala crematorium, which is the largest incinerator in Tripura, is following YouTube to make disinfectants at home.

“We have to perform rituals before cremations. So we have be extra-cautious to protect ourselves from possible Covid-19 infection. In Tripura, no positive case has been reported so far. But we cannot take any chance. To protect ourselves from other germs also we need hand sanitisers which are in short supply in the market. So we have decided to manufacture home-made sanitisers and learnt the formula from YouTube,” mahapurohit Subir Chakraborty, 47, told reporters on Tuesday.

Around seven bodies are brought to the Battala crematorium daily.

“I have learnt to make home-made sanitisers from YouTube. I bought isopropyl alcohol from a chemist and ready-made aloe vera juice from departmental stores and made the preparation at home. I have made around 500 ml of sanitiser and am using it when I am on duty,” Chakraborty said. He added he was sharing the idea with other priests too.

Ajay Chakraborty, another priest, said more than 10 people come for cremating a body and the number needs to be reduced in order to maintain the social-distancing norm.