As India is reeling under a massive second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of deaths has also increased. Such is the situation that crematoriums and burial grounds are packed to capacity.
Amid this, several unidentified and partially burnt bodies were spotted floating in the Yamuna river in Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur. On Sunday (May 9), some residents spotted the bodies floating in River Yamuna and alerted the police.
According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the Additional Superintendent of Police of Hamirpur, Anoop Singh said that many families instead of burning the mortal remains of their dead kin preferred to immerse them in the river as the last rites. “In the second wave of the pandemic, people have died in large numbers in villages and people out of fear are not helping one another. In such a scenario, they are dumping their dead into the rivers,” said Dinesh Nigam, the councillor from Maudaha, Hamirpur Nagar Palika.
“Two of the bodies were partially burnt. We have informed the Kanpur Outer and Kanpur Dehat district administrations and have also stepped up vigil in our area,” Singh added.
In a similar incident in Bihar's Buxar, the administration on Monday found at least 45 dead bodies, most in a decomposed stage, in the Ganga.
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Ashok Kumar, the Block Development Officer of Chausa in the district, said that the administration has spotted 45 dead bodies at Mahadev Ghat.
"Chausa is located on the Bihar-Uttar Pradesh border. These dead bodies are definitely thrown in districts in Uttar Pradesh. We have deployed guards at Mahadev Ghat and cremations of dead bodies are underway," he said.
Amid the Covid surge that is wreaking havoc across India, the administration in Bihar`s Buxar district on Monday found at least 45 dead bodies, most in a decomposed stage, in the Ganga, and claimed they had been thrown into the river in upstream Uttar Pradesh.
Buxar SDO KK Upadhyay said: "During preliminary investigation, it has appeared that the dead bodies are in decomposed state and more than 5 to 6 days old. We are interacting with our counterparts in Varanasi and Allahabad (Prayagraj) to investigate the incident and intensify vigil in the areas located on the banks of the Ganga."
Anjoria Devi, the wife of the Dom Raja of Mahadev Ghat in Chausa, alleged that relatives of the deceased are also coming to the Ghat and throwing the dead bodies into the Ganga without cremation.
(With IANS inputs)
