‘We can’t let a virus win over humanity’
LUCKNOW: Mahesh Chandra Agarwal, 84, a resident of E block Rajajipuram died due to corona last Sunday.
He had no son and none around to accompany his body to the crematorium.
That’s when his married daughter browsed through social media and contacted a 23-year-old youth who along with his friends offered his services to cremate Covid body with dignity.
Abhishek quickly arrived with his friends - Karunesh Pathak, Sunny Sahu, Shashank Shukla , Ramesh Tripathi and Raghav Kumar.
Once at Agarwal’s place, they wore PPE kits and accompanied the body to the cremation ground where they performed Agarwal’s last rites.
“Had they not been here, the last rites of my father would not have been performed. At a time when relatives are running away from a corona patient, they are risking their lives to help others. I have no words to express my gratitude,” said Mahesh’s daughter Kanta Agarwal (52).
Abhishek shared how and why he decided to perform the last rites of Covid bodies.
“I was really sad when I heard that in Jaunpur an elderly man was forced to carry the body of his deceased wife on a bicycle for hours because residents of the village did not allow the funeral of the woman fearing coronavirus. That day I called my friends and told them that I want to cremate bodies of those who are abandoned by their relatives due to fear of corona. I wanted to give the dead the respect they deserve,” he said.
“I asked my friends if they would like to join me, and all agreed. We collected some money, purchased PPE kits, face shields, gloves, masks, head covers, shoe covers, and sanitisers, floated our number on social media and got going. Till now we have cremated 12 such bodies,” he said.
“Anyone who needs our services can dial 8887987566. Our services are free. I just want to remind everyone that every dead body deserves to be treated with dignity. As human beings, we cannot let a virus dictate terms to such an extent that we start disrespecting dead bodies,” he said.
“My parents are bit worried about safety but at the same time they are proud of me,” he said.