Covid scare hits funerals in Ganjam, cops to the rescue

Berhampur: Saying goodbyes were never easy, but the coronavirus pandemic has made things worse. The stigma around the disease has been heartbreaking.
Funerals that otherwise see a number of people gather together are no longer the same. People have not only restricted themselves from visiting loved ones suffering from the Covid-19, but also those suffering from other ailments.
In several cases, the district administration with the help of police have cremated bodies. One such recent incident was reported from district’s Sorada on Thursday. Local police, tehsildar and NAC staff had to lend a helping hand to carry the body of a 63-year-old man, who did not die of Covid-19.
The deceased has been identified as Rajendra Suar. Though his younger son made repeated pleas in front of the neighbours to help him out with his father’s cremation, none came forward thinking he died of coronavirus after his elder son tested positive for the virus.
The body was carried to the cremation ground in a vehicle arranged by the police and tehsildar. The younger son had to carry out the last rites wearing a personal protective equipment suit. “Nobody was willing to come near the body. We only coordinated and cremated the man,” Ramesh Chandra Pradhan, inspector in-charge of Sorada police station said.
“The villagers did not come forward as his elder son tested positive for the virus and were afraid of contracting the virus. But no testing was done in case of the 63-year-old deceased,” he added.
Similarly, an 85-year-old man, E Suba Rao, was cremated by his two sons, along with a handful of volunteers, at Nuapada in Chikiti block on Wednesday.
Earlier, local police and tehasildars had to interfere in the safe disposal of the bodies at Balipada and Kabisurya Nagar in the district after the neighbours refused to cooperate. The siblings of the deceased at Kabisurya Nagar was forced to bury the body.
“On the request of loved ones, we take bodies for the safe disposal following Covid regulations,” tahasildar Ipsita Mishra said.
“It’s another crisis amid the pandemic. The administration need to sensitize the people so that there is no more apprehension and stigma,” Rabindra Nath Patra, secretary of a Berhmapur-based NGO, said.
Meanwhile, Ganjam recorded 320 new cases of the coronavirus disease, in the highest jump so far, and four deaths in the last 24 hours pushing its infection tally to 3,416.
Among the infected persons, three are journalists. This is the first time that media persons have been infected since the outbreak. The total number of fatalities surged to 35.
The fresh cases were reported from all 22 blocks and the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC). Four women died while undergoing treatment in a Covid Hospital, official sources said on Friday. Three of the deceased had diabetes and hypertension, sources said.
Meanwhile, the urban areas and five blocks of the headquarters towns in the district witnessed the second day of the five-day shutdown. The authorities have called a shutdown to facilitate teams in conducting mass health screening.
Of the cases, 89 from BeMC, 32 from Aska, 29 from Bhanjanagar, 19 from Belaguntha, 14 from each Chikiti, Kukudakhandi and Sanakhemundi, 12 from each Hinjili and Dharakote, and 11 each from Patrapur and Polasara.