India is spiraling with an overwhelming number of coronavirus infections and deaths. In a shocking turn of events, dozens of dead bodies of suspected COVID-19 victims have washed up on the banks of the Ganges River, while many corpses have been found in other rivers in the country as well – including the sacred Yamuna River.
The country is grappling with rising cases, overflowing hospitals and oxygen shortages. On Tuesday, the country observed nearly 390,000 new cases, with 3,876 deaths.
Image: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
The weighed-down crematoriums and cemeteries have been stated as the main causes of these episodes. Locals believed the bodies had been dumped in the rivers as cremation sites were overwhelmed or because relatives could not afford wood for funeral pyres.
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A local official, Ashok Kumar, stated that about 40 corpses washed up in Buxar district near the border between Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which are among the country’s poorest states. Concerned officials have been directed to dispose of all bodies, to either bury or cremate them.
Over the past few days, many bodies of suspected coronavirus patients have been retrieved from the Ganges from Buxar in Bihar and Ballia in Uttar Pradesh. According to sources, people have been dumping the dead in rivers as cremation grounds ran out of wood for pyres.
Several unidentified corpses were also spotted floating in the Yamuna River in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district.
Dinesh Nigam, the councillor from Maudaha, Hamirpur Nagar Palika, said,
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.
Dead bodies were found floating in Madhya Pradesh’s Runj River. Residents of the Panna district claimed to have spotted four to five bodies in the tributary to the river Ken, which is a source of drinking water for cattle in the village.
The country is already in a state of fear and panic, the discovery of suspected COVID-19 victims in rivers has fuelled the fear.
Reportedly, some of the bodies were bloated, partially burned and could have been in the river for several days. Health officials working through Monday night recovered 71 bodies; however, the number of corpses could be over 100.
After the administration spotted 45 dead bodies at Mahadev Ghat, Ashok Kumar, the Block Development Officer of Chausa in the district, said,
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.
Images of the bodies floating in the river have been circulating on social media, prompting outrage and speculation that they died from the coronavirus.
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Authorities performed the post-mortem on Tuesday, but they could not confirm the cause of death due to the decomposition of the bodies.
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.
More corpses were discovered floating in the river on Tuesday too, washing up in Ghazipur district in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
A Ghazipur-resident, Surinder said that villagers did not have enough wood to cremate their dead on land, so they offered the bodies to the river. Bodies from around 12-13 villages were buried in the water.
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are witnessing surging coronavirus cases as infections in India are getting out of control.
Reportedly, dozens of bodies have been buried on the banks of the cremation ghats of Ganga in Unnao district, which is next to Kanpur, owing to the shortage of firewood.
Furthermore, there have been reports and videos on social media of ambulances from both UP and Bihar throwing away dead bodies into the river from a bridge near the Bihar border in the Saran district.