Crematorium struggles to keep up with mounting toll
NOIDA: Amid an alarming rise in Covid-19 cases, the Sector 94 crematorium, the only funeral home in the city, is struggling to dispose of bodies with limited resources and staff. Till late evening on Wednesday, 75 bodies, including 50 bodies of Covid patients, arrived at the crematorium, officials said.
Though Gautam Budh Nagar district has recorded only 13 deaths due to Covid-19 in the past three days, the officials said some bodies were brought to the crematorium from neighbouring districts, without stating their numbers.
The facility is struggling to maintain order during the last rites of bodies, said officials of Noida Lok Manch (NLM), an NGO which takes care of maintenance of the cremation ground. On Tuesday, at least 50 cremations took place and on Monday, 45 bodies were cremated there, said the officials. They also said about 120 to 180 bodies are usually cremated in a month at the facility.
The facility has 24 manual platforms and two CNG chambers, the officials said, adding that 12 new are being built to handle the pressure.
On Wednesday, NLM sought help from the police to enforce social distancing guidelines at the facility. “We appeal to people to not visit the cremation ground in large numbers because it is creating pressure on our staff. More than 50 people are turning up with each dead body, thereby causing disorder and infection risk to staff members. We had to call in police to enforce order,” said Mahesh Saxena, general secretary of NLM.
NLM said it has increased its staff members from 10 to 20 three days ago to handle the rush.
Meanwhile, the Noida authority has deployed at least 20 additional staff at the facility that include three junior engineers and as many supervisors to maintain the order.
“We have directed the staff to work day and night to make sure all bodies that reach the facility are cremated. Currently, two CNG chambers, along with manual platforms that require wood, are operational. We have procured one more CNG machine that will start operations on Friday. Two more CNG chambers will start functioning by end of April,” said Ritu Maheshwari, chief executive officer, Noida authority.
The NLM officials said that pressure is mounting on the facility because bodies from nearby districts such as Faridabad and Bulandshahr are also coming here. As a result, the cremation ground spread over 13 acres and located near Kalindi Kunj Barrage on Yamuna along the embankment road is witnessing dead bodies even during night time, they said.
“We have suggested the administration for a new cremation ground either in Noida or Greater Noida, because one is not adequate in view of the current situation,” said Maheshwari.
During the period from June to November last year, the maximum cremations that had taken place were between 30 and 40, the officials said.
Meanwhile, the NLM has sought wood from the Noida authority for the manual cremation of bodies. “We have an adequate arrangement of wood for the cremation from Modi Nagar,” said Maheshwari.
“We request the visitors to stay outside the cremation ground and cooperate for general good,” said Ranvijay Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police, who was present at the facility on Wednesday.
We have directed the staff to work day and night to make sure that all bodies that reach the facility are cremated.
RITU MAHESHWARI, CEO, Noida authority