UP’s trio that gives dignity to dead

LUCKNOW: At a time when the country was grappling with deaths caused due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), a poet, a social worker and a state government employee based in Lucknow have been helping the underprivileged in a manner that no one else has.

Between March and June, the trio cremated 15 unclaimed bodies in Bhaisakund crematorium, the largest of the three crematoriums in the city which handled close to 800 bodies a month in pre-pandemic times.

The city has 23 shelters for homeless people, but government estimates put the number of street dwellers at 3000. Unclaimed bodies – usually of street and pavement dwellers, whose families cannot be traced – are routinely cremated here, said Surya Vikram Singh, incharge of electric crematorium in Lucknow Municipal Corporation. Between March and May, 161 such bodies were cremated.

For Verma, 45, a published poet, and her partners, Deepak

Mahajan, 60, a clerk in the rural engineering department, and Mohammad Azhar Hussain, 26, a social worker, this work isn’t new. They have been working with the underprivileged in the city since 2018, and helping the police cremate unclaimed bodies.

However, during Covid, their work became all the more significant. Special guidelines on the handling bodies of infected persons during the pandemic were issued by the Centre even as instances reports of families refusing to accept bodies of their kin, and communities refusing to allow burial of bodies in neighbourhoods emerged from around the country.

And though the Uttar Pradesh state government has not issued specific guidelines on cremating uninfected persons -the trio only cremates such bodies -- Verma ensures that they all wear personal protective gear like masks and gloves.

“I decided to continue doing this work at a time when no one wanted to touch those bodies fearing the spread of coronavirus,” Verma said. “I used to see a lot of [homeless] people suffering. If they fell ill, there was no one to take care of them. [The three of us] decided to work for those who often end up dying on the road in the absence of proper medical care,” she said.

All unclaimed bodies are usually sent to a mortuary for postmortem before cremation, chief medical superintendent of Civil Hospital Ashutosh Dubey said. “Versha is known for her work of bringing the underprivileged to the hospital for treatment. It’s the duty of police to cremate such bodies but sometimes they call Versha when they are busy.”

Police inspectors Kuldeep Singh and Raj Bahadur, who are attached to the mortuary of the government-run KGMU hospital said that they often call upon Verma when their workload is high.

“We started cremating bodies of deprived about two and half years ago. We are in constant touch with police, and ask them to let us know when we can help,” Verma said.

Shraddha Saxena, chairperson Ansh Welfare Foundation and a well-known social worker in the city said, “When cremated by police, the bodies are usually taken in an open rickshaw packed in a cloth, but people like Versha arrange for a bus and bring the body to the crematorium with respect.”

Mahajan pointed out that they do the work using the funds of the Divya Sewa Foundation, which they set up to do social work, in 2017.

Since Bhaisakund is located on riverfront of Gomti, Verma and her colleagues immerse the ashes of the bodies they cremate. “I feel satisfied when I respectfully perform the cremation and immerse the ashes in Gomti, I don’t want anything in return, I just want eternal peace and calm [for them],” Verma said.

Verma’s husband, Rakesh is an engineer in state public works department. He recalls feeling fearful when Verma continued to do her work during the lockdown as well.

“I was worried about her health especially when it comes to handling of bodies.”.

Verma is a role model for her 14-year-old daughter, Nandini, who wants to grow up to be just like her mother: a social worker.

BETWEEN MARCH AND JUNE, THE TRIO CREMATED 15 UNCLAIMED BODIES IN BHAISAKUND CREMATORIUM