Dead Bodies in River Fill Ganges Due to Rise of COVID Cases in India

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Dead Bodies in River Fill Ganges Due to Rise of COVID Cases in India
River Ganga from Varanasi

Heaps of dead bodies in river Ganges in Allahabad due to the excessive rise of COVID cases in India. The Ganges is being lit by the funeral pyres in Allahabad.

India is struggling through the second wave of COVID, and that has resulted in the entire Ganges piling up with dozens of bodies. In the last few days, several dead bodies in the river have been found in Uttar Pradesh’s Gahmar.

Dead bodies in river in Gahmar

A minimum of 40 bodies has been taken out from the Ganges, which was around 34 miles from Gahmar’s downstream. Even though it is not clear who is responsible for these bodies’ drowning, it is evident that the bodies are COVID-affected victims. Sadly, all the bodies have not yet been identified.

BBC Online was informed by a local journalist on Tuesday that the embankments of the Gahmar’s village have been washed by dead bodies for many days.

Villagers and localists have complained several times about the foul odor that was prevailing for days now. But the authorities took no action. They only took a step when they heard of the pilling up of dead bodies in river on Monday, in Bihar.

Gahmar police are using sticks to pull out the dead bodies from the river. Around 25 to 30 terribly decomposed bodies are buried since the action took place.

Authorities’ opinion about dead bodies in Gahmar

MP Singh, Ghazipur District Magistrate, informed the NDTV that an investigation would be done to determine the root cause of the bodies reaching Gahmar. Further, he said that the authorities got the information, and several officers are helping in taking the bodies out. Also, he added that there would be an investigation that will take place. He also said they are trying to get to where the dead bodies came from.

In the banks of the Buxar river, which is present on the border between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states, at least 40 bodies have been discovered, confirmed officials on Monday. However, in a few media reports, it is clear that around 100 bodies were found. Also, they confirmed that according to their condition, the bodies have been in the river for many days.

According to an official, the remains of these highly decomposed bodies will either be cremated or buried.

The death rate is rising massively in several parts of India due to the second wave of the coronavirus. Maximum of the crematoriums of the country is running short of space.

At the moment, India is the focal point of the COVID 19 pandemic. Currently, the country is recorded to have exceeded 22 million cases and over 249,992 deaths. Some experts suggest that the actual death toll may be much higher.

The outbreak of the Spanish Flu in 1918

It is not the first time that India has seen dead bodies in rivers in a pandemic. A renowned Hindi poet and writer – Suryakant Tripathi, commonly called Nirala, said that the Ganges river was swollen up with all dead bodies. This happened during the Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918 in his village. Now, which is a part of Uttar Pradesh state in India.

Suryakant Tripathi lost several members, including his wife, due to the Spanish Flu in 1918. It is recorded that around 17 to 18 million people died only in India and many more casualties during the World Wars.

A British official, Norman White, reported on the pandemic that several bodies were thrown in the river. It was because there was a shortage of firewood for cremation.