Bodies pile up at crematoriums
Melting furnaces run round the clock as pandemic deaths continue to rise
India’s crematoriums and burial grounds are working overtime to cope with the surging number of deaths from the country’s escalating coronavirus outbreak.
Local media has been filled with grim reports of melting furnaces at crematoriums running non-stop, bodies piling up and smoke from continuously burning flesh creating another health risk for locals. Workers at six crematoriums across the country confirmed the scenes in phone interviews, saying they’ve seen Covid-19 deaths climbing.
“Earlier 15 to 20 bodies were coming in a day and now around 80 to 100 dead bodies are coming daily,” said Kamlesh Sailor, the president of a trust operating a crematorium in Surat, a city in the industryheavy western state of Gujarat.
The deluge of infections and deaths highlight just how unprepared prime minister Narendra Modi’s administration has been to deal with the latest wave of the epidemic. In the past weeks large crowds have gathered for elections rallies in five states, festivals, and religious pilgrimages — indicating things could get even worse for the country and its crematoriums.
Even with the rise in deaths, experts say India is still underreporting fatalities.
Death registration data was
patchy even before the virus struck, with the vast majority — especially in rural villages — taking place at home and going undocumented.
Experts believe that only between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of all deaths in India are properly medically certified.
Rising numbers
In New Delhi, the largest burial ground and cremation centers reported an average of 8-9 Covid deaths a day, up from one or two a month ago. They are preparing for more after the city on Monday reported a record high of over 11,000 new infections.
At Nigambodh Ghat, New Delhi’s largest cremation ground on the banks of Yamuna river, the administration has “made provision to increase the number of wood pyres and have also planned for additional manpower,” said Jai Prakash, the mayor of North Delhi Municipal Corporation.