Residents ask admin to help conduct funerals

RESIDENTS SAID THERE SHOULD BE A TASK FORCE FOR FAMILIES WHO LOSE PATIENTS AT HOME AND DO NOT HAVE RESOURCES FOR LAST RITES

NOIDA: Residents of Noida have requested that the administration start cremation services for Covid-19 patients who died while in home isolation.

The Gautam Budh Nagar administration takes full responsibility for cremating of a Covid patient if he or she dies at a hospital. The health department team takes the body to the cremation ground and performs the last rites to make sure families or visitors are not exposed to Covid-19, however, one or two family members are allowed.

However, if a patient dies in home isolation, the onus of conducting the cremation is with the family.

“We have come across cases where two senior citizens have tested positive and were under home isolation, and one of them died. There was no one to help with the last rites. In such cases, cremation becomes a huge challenge. Neighbours also hesitate due to fear of Covid infection. We want that the last rites of a person should be performed with dignity,” said Rajiva Singh, president of the Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Association (NFAOA), an umbrella body of all AOAS of Noida.

In a letter dated May 7, residents suggested that there should be a task force for providing immediate relief to families who lose Covid patients at home and do not have adequate logistics and resources to perform the last rites of a Covid body.

“Earlier, without Covid, performing last rites was easier as many people from the residents’ welfare association (RWA) or the AOA could have helped. However, now as Covid cases surge, cremation grounds are overcrowded and cab service is also not available easily. The administration should run a dedicated service for such cases wherein a Covid patient has expired at home,” said Om Raizada, social activist and a resident of Sector P3, Greater Noida.

The admin had recently readied four more cremation grounds in Noida and Greater Noida so as to ease the load at Sector 94’s Antim Niwas crematorium.

“We are encouraging NGOS and socially active persons to come forward and help perform last rites of Covid patients who have died at home. Residents can form task forces and we will help them with logistics. In such cases (of Covid patients dying at home), we are helping the family perform the last rites. But if volunteers come forward then we can help the volunteers. We can arrange logistics and volunteers can gather priests and material for the last rites,” said Narendra Bhooshan, nodal officer for Covid handling of GB Nagar, who is also the CEO of the Greater Noida authority.