Bodies found buried near river in India as cremation prices soar
MULTIPLE bodies have been found buried in the sand along the Ganges river in northern India, of cials said on Thursday, days after bodies of suspected coronavirus victims were seen oating on the water.
Local media reported that since the death toll in the ongoing second wave of the pandemic began to rise in India, prices for cremations have shot up.
This may have caused poor families to either consign remains of patients to the river or bury them instead.
Many bodies draped in saffron cloth, a colour sacred to Hindus, were found buried by the river in two locations in Unnao district in the state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.
A senior administration ofcial said one of the sites was a major regional cremation spot, and there was no con rmation that the bodies were of Covid-19 patients.
“Some people in the region do not burn bodies but bury them in the sand by the river. Several bodies appear to have been buried recently, our teams are on the spot and are carrying out a probe,” District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar told dpa by phone.
The development comes amid allegations and reports that mass dumping of Covid-19 patients was taking place in some regions as India sees its deadliest days of the pandemic.
Nearly 100 bodies have washed up on the banks of the Ganges in neighbouring districts in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar earlier this week, with the frightening visuals sparking shock among locals as well as on Indian social media.
Hindus regard the Ganges as the holiest river and consigning bodies to it is not part of any religion’s tradition, including Hinduism.
Panic gripped locals in Unnao.
“The monsoon is barely a month away and once the Ganges becomes ooded with water, these bodies will be washed ashore. The district administration should exhume the bodies and perform a proper cremation,” Shrish Gupta, a businessman, told the IANS news agency.
Locals believe the shortage of wood for funeral pyres might be a reason why corpses are being abandoned in this manner.
“A package for cremation according to Hindu rites is now between 15,000 to 20,000 rupees (271 dollars). It is obvious that poor people cannot afford it and they are opting for riverside burials,” Gupta said.
Of cials said they would ensure that the deceased get digni ed last rites.
“Our administration is trying to ensure that people do not follow this practice. We are reaching out to local communities and have assured that we will arrange cremations for free,” Kumar said.