Fear of infection, a lack of medical facilities and days of waiting for cremations are said to be the reasons for the dozens of bodies seen abandoned at crematoriums in New Delhi.
The bodies of Covid-19 victims are piling up in mortuaries and abandoned bodies are left near crematoriums amid a thriving black market for medical oxygen as coronavirus cases spiral in India’s capital.
India's Covid19 crisis has started throwing up challenges in multiple forms. The second wave Covid-hit has now resulted in emergence of the 'Indian variant'. The WHO has named it B-1617 and this has already affected 17 countries.
On the global stage, as high as 38 per cent of global cases have now been reported from India in the past week.
Daily infections in India hovered above 300,000 for sixth straight day.
The trajectory of infections in India is alarming. Daily infections hovered above 350,000 for the third straight day on April 29. The figure rose to 380,000 on April 30 before reaching a record high of 401,993 cases and 3,523 deaths on May 1.
The pandemic has infected more than 19 million people and claimed 211,853 lives so far in India. "We Indians talk big about humanitarian aspects and religious ideologies, but people display their baser instincts when faced with life’s realities,” says Pongsing, a Christian resident of Delhi who lost a family member to Covid-19.
“There is rampant black marketing of oxygen and some medicines. A cylinder of oxygen is sold at 30,000 to 40,000 rupees (US$400-500) on the black market. As we suffer, some people are focused on minting money."
The black market price of an oxygen cylinder is up to 10 times more than the actual of cost of 4,000 rupees.
Pongsing’s cousin lost his wife in the second Covid wave that hit India in April.
Those who bring their near and dear ones to hospital look almost reconciled that they will not get back their relatives
“There was no one to help. I think the entire atmosphere around Delhi hospitals is of utter frustration now,” he says.
“Those who bring their near and dear ones to hospital look almost reconciled that they will not get back their relatives."
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| Kalyan Baruah: Journalist expired due to Covid |
Some 300 people are dying daily in New Delhi. The death toll has been increasing rapidly in the past week. India has been reporting more than 3,000 deaths each day, up from 2,000 in the previous week.
Crematoriums in the capital are burning multiple bodies and in most of them bodies are lined up in the open because of the backlog.
In most cases, no relative comes to receive the ashes or perform the rituals that Hinduism demands are necessary for the repose of the departed soul.
"Faith has become secondary in a country where we make a big fuss about rituals and religiosity. Now, everyone is busy saving their own life. It is a sense of reconciling to faith," says Delhi resident Mohini Sachdeva.
The mass burning of bodies and the utter confusion over who is taking the ashes of whose bodies has sparked a discussion on the concept of last rites and Moksha.
Hindus believe that a deceased’s ashes need to be immersed in the River Ganga at Varanasi or in other temple cities for the soul to attain Moksha, the union with the supreme God ending the cycle of rebirth.
But a temple priest in Delhi explains that all rituals are linked to faith and liberal Hinduism can be practiced in any situation.
“Hinduism is very liberal and flexible. Our ancestral sacred books say that all rituals should be pragmatic and realistic. If you cannot find the Ganga in your neighborhood, other water bodies are allowed for the immersion of ashes,” he says.
In today's circumstances, survival would get precedence even over prayers and rituals
Similarly, if a body cannot be cremated, it may be disposed of in other ways.
“The Antyeshti, or last rite, is linked to the faith that the soul or Atman is immortal. So, it is not a sin to not cremate the body or not to collect the ashes. If one cannot collect the ashes, the son of the deceased or a close relative can make a formal request to the priests to hold the last rite without ashes,” says the priest, who requested anonymity.
"In today's circumstances, survival would get precedence even over prayers and rituals. All these have been made and followed for human beings; the human beings are not made for rituals.”
Delhi is building cremation platforms in parks to ease the pressure on its crematoriums.
But amid the helplessness and utter frustration, the roles of administrative authorities have been found wanting.
Delhi High Court has criticized the city government's handling of the pandemic. The court threatened to dismiss the government led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and hand it over it over to the federal government.
On the other hand, opposition parties say the chief failure for the present mess must be attributed to the federal government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It would be unfair to blame one party or the other. This is crisis time on the global stage
But local leaders of Modi’s pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says it is not the time for a political blame game.
"It would be unfair to blame one party or the other. This is crisis time on the global stage. We do not want politics. India has suffered, it is true,” says Pankaj Chaturvedi, BJP spokesman for Madhya Pradesh state.
However, he said, as India is a federation of states, “the role of the state governments cannot be ignored either.”
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India reports a staggeringly high 401,993 cases in a single day :: 18 patients die as fire engulfs Covid hospital at Gujarat's Bharuch
India on Saturday/May 1 reported a staggeringly high 401,993 cases.
At the national level, the total number of cases stands at 19,164,969 and the death toll from the virus has shot up to 211,835.
India thus became the first country in the world to log 400,000 infections in a single day. The number of fatalities in India has increased to 3,498 new deaths in last 24 hours.
18 patients die as fire engulfs Covid hospital at Gujarat's Bharuch, PM expresses pain
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed 'pain' at the loss of lives due to
a fire at a Bharuch hospital in Gujarat. "Pained by the loss of lives due to a fire at a hospital in Bharuch. Condolences to the bereaved families," he tweeted.
Reports said at least 18 coronavirus patients died after a fire broke out at a hospital in Bharuch
in the early hours on May 1.
Some patients reportedly were charred to death while on stretchers and their beds.
There were around 50 other patients at the four- storeyed Welfare Hospital when the fire broke out in the COVID-19 ward at around 1 am.
They were rescued by locals and firefighters, an official said.
The 12 patients in the COVID-19 ward died due to the fire and resultant smoke. "The fire was so intense that the ICU ward was almost burnt to the ground," an eyewitness said. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, officials said.
Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh for the families of 18 people, who were killed in the mishap.
Rupani also extended his condolences to the patients, doctors and the hospital staff who lost their lives in the fire. Incidentally, today is also Statehood days for Gujarat and Maharashtra.
"Both states are home to outstanding people, who have made landmark contributions to national growth.
May these states fight COVID-19 successfully and may the people of these states be blessed with good health," the Prime Minister wrote in another tweet.
Mizoram House in Delhi to be made Covid Care Centre
Aware of problems in Delhi hospitals, the Mizoram government has decided to make state
government-operated 'Mizoram House' at Vasant Vihar in the national capital a Covid19 care centre.
The state Chief Minister Zoramthanga made an announcement to this effect to help Mizo population staying in Delhi get the benefit of the facilities inview of the surge in number of cases in Delhi since last one week.
There are two Mizoram Houses in Delhi located at Vasant Vihar and Chanakyapuri areas.
Zoramthanga also said that he has great concern for the people of the state living in the national capital who have been infected by the pandemic.
A large number of Mizoram students and government officials reside in Delhi.
The Chief Minister urged officials and office bearers of Delhi Mizo Welfare Association to make arrangement in this regard.
The chief minister also urged upon the medical staff including doctors and nurses from Mizoram living in the capital to use their skills and launch the service as per their convenience at the earliest.
"We will try our best for our people. It is time for us to fight the pandemic together," the Chief Minister said in a message in social media.
Mr Zoramthanga is a former insurgent leader and a close associate of Laldenga, who had inked peace pact with the central government in 1986.
Like Mizo people in general, Zoramthanga is also known for 'pragmatic' approach to politics and life. During the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Prime Minister, Zoramthanga had offered to work 'on behalf of the centre' and expedite negotiations with Naga rebel leaders Thuingaleng Muivah and Late Isak Chishi Swu.
Once the Mizos shunned the path of violence, the Mizo leaders have been working tirelessly for establishing peace and harmony.
In 1999, the Vajpayee government had sanctioned a supplementary grant of Rs 242.16 crore as 'peace bonus' to the state government to help it tide over its acute funds crunch.
Back home in the state, 6019 people have been affected by covid-19 and the state has reported 14 deaths.
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