45 COVID Dead Bodies Found in Ganga River in Bihar
At the bank of the Ganga in Bihar’s Buxar district, locals spotted many dead bodies floating in the water.
At the bank of the Ganga at Chausa in Bihar’s Buxar district, locals panicked when they spotted many dead bodies floating in the water. Some of the bodies were being torn apart from street dogs and vultures. Some of the unidentified bodies were swollen, others appeared half burnt. Locals said bodies numbering around 40 to 45 were dumped on the river in the last few days. They suspected that the bodies could be of Covid patients. Many local residents, who spoke reporters covered their faces because they did not want to be recognised. They feared the government officials. The locals claimed that the district administration was not ready to accept the horrible situation in Buxar. One of the residents said. "There is also a shortage of wood and other material required for cremation. Availability of these has taken a hit because of the lockdown.” Another local stated, “Often family members of a COVID victim are not handed over the body by the administration. The government claims it would perform the last rites for the family following COVID safety norms. Because if families perform last rites there is a risk of infection. What indeed happens is that the officials develop cold feet later and fearing that they might catch the infection themselves, they dump the bodies in the river and flee. Little do they realize that they are also polluting the river,"
Anjoria Devi, a resident of Chausa, alleged whenever people reached there with the body of a near and dear one who died of the coronavirus, locals said those manning cremation ghats were charging a fortune. Relatives of the deceased are also coming to the Ghat and throwing the dead bodies into the Ganga without cremation. She said, "Around 10 dead bodies are being thrown in every day. When they were asked not to do so, they assaulted us. They also argue who would bear the expenses of cremation," Chausa BDO Ashok Kumar has said, "We were alerted by the local chowkidar that many bodies have been spotted floating from upstream. We have so far recovered 15 of these. None of the deceased happens to be a resident of the district. Many Uttar Pradesh districts are situated right across the river and the bodies may have been dumped in the Ganges for reasons not known to us. We cannot confirm whether the deceased were indeed Covid positive. The bodies have started decomposing. But we are taking all precautions while ensuring that these are disposed of in a decent manner. Some news channels claimed the number of bodies to be as high as 100 but this number is highly exaggerated.” Soon after the news broke out, people on Twitter slammed the Bihar and UP government for their failure to provide better healthcare facilities and crematoriums.
