3k wait to immerse ashes in Haridwar as UP heightens curbs
UP government barred buses travelling from Rajasthan to Haridwar as part of Covid curbs
About 3,000 people are waiting for a chance to immerse the ashes of their loved ones in Haridwar in Uttarakhand after the Uttar Pradesh government barred buses travelling from Rajasthan to Haridwar as part of Covid curbs, officials said.
The Rajasthan government’s ‘Moksh Kalash Yojana’ offers free bus services to any two members of a family, who want to travel to Haridwar with ashes of their near ones.
For over a month now, about 3,000 people registered to avail of the service is waiting with ashes of their loved ones preserved in urns. According to the chairman and managing director of Rajasthan State Road and Transport Corporation (RSRTC), Rajeshwar Singh, the corporation has written to the Uttar Pradesh government to resolve the matter so that immersions can take place.
RSRTC said that all arrangements are in place and but their buses have not been allowed to enter Uttar Pradesh. “There is no alternative way for our buses to reach Uttarakhand without travelling through Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, we have been trying to find a way so that services could resume,” said Sudheer Bhati, spokesperson for the RSRTC, “Registrations for immersion of ashes accumulated in the past one month and could be resolved quickly as soon as buses began to ply.”
People working at cremation grounds across Rajasthan lamented that the urns are swelling up but there is no way for people to take them to Haridwar. Ravi Kumar, who runs an NGO that conducts free cremation of people who died of Covid-19, said urns preserved with ashes have overwhelmed cremation grounds across the state.
“Many families are in distress; they could not attend the funeral of their own near ones due to the Covid-19 protocol, so they want a proper immersion of ashes in Haridwar. But since travelling is banned, the number of urns is increasing every day,” he said.
Devendra Kumar Singhal (45), who lost his father to Covid-19, said that he was waiting to travel to Haridwar for several days now. “I was in hospital battling coronavirus when my father passed away in a nearby ward due to the same illness. I =could not attend his funeral; no one in the family was present at the cremation ground. The least I can do is to have a proper immersion ritual,” he said.
Jitendra Tripathi, caretaker of a cremation ground, said they have asked family members to come and take urns of ashes away as there is no space left. “Some families are still battling coronavirus and cannot come to the cremation ground. But we have a challenge to properly preserve these urns,” he said.