Gujarat & Chhattisgarh Struggle to Cremate COVID Patients
Relatives of COVID-19 victims as well as those who died of other ailments are forced to wait for hours for performing the last rites as many crematoriums in Gujarat are witnessing a huge rush since th
Increasing cases of COVID-19 in the country has also led to an increase in the number of deaths. However crematoriums across the country are unable to cope with this. Relatives of COVID-19 victims as well as those who died of other ailments are forced to wait for hours for performing the last rites in Gujarat. This is because many crematoriums in Gujarat are witnessing a huge rush since last week. Two days back, around 25 bodies were cremated simultaneously on wood pyres at night in a crematorium in the Umra area of Surat city. On 14th April officials said, Hindus generally do not cremate the dead after sunset but many of them are left with no other option as there is a queue of people waiting to cremate their loved ones.
People have had to wait for 8-12 hours in a queue. To tackle the situation and reduce the waiting period, authorities have added Metal Pyres in some crematoriums and have also reopened defunct facilities. Another shocking incident was reported in Chhattisgarh. A garbage van was used to ferry the bodies of patients who died of COVID-19 in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon. Four sanitation workers, clad in full PPE kits, were seen lifting and dumping the bodies in the back of the van for taking them to the cremation ground.
