Covid victim buried at Mankapur ghat as cemetery allows only ashes

Nagpur: A 74-year-old former railway employee, who had tested Covid-19 positive and passed away early Sunday morning, was buried at Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s Mankapur ghat after the Jaripatka Protestant Christian Cemetery administration asked the deceased’s family to cremate the body and bring only ashes for burial.
The deceased was a member of Calvary Alliance Church, Wanjari Nagar, and entitled to get a burial plot at Jaripatka.
The man had suffered a stroke and admitted to railway hospital from where he was shifted to a private hospital in Ramdaspeth on July 31. His swab was collected same day and he tested Covid-19 positive on August 1, following which the private hospital asked the patient’s son to shift him to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
While being treated for paralysis as well as Covid-19, the elderly man passed away at 6am at GMCH.
“My grandfather too is buried at Jaripatka cemetery. My father had willed that he be buried here. But the cemetery committee initially refused to allow the burial. They kept asking us to bring the ashes after cremating the body. My mom refused to allow burning of the body,” the deceased’s son told TOI.
Last week, the cemetery committee had conducted the last rites as per Protestant Christian religious tradition on the ashes of another Covid victim.
“We had moved our request through the Wanjari Nagar church but the cemetery committee insisted on cremation followed by burial of ashes as done last week,” the son said.
As the last rites couldn’t be held up further, the NMC offered the family a place at one of its oldest ghat in Mankapur having graves of people from different faiths.
Reverend Ganesh Barve, president of Jaripatka Protestant Christian Cemetery, said as per their religious tradition burial at sea, land and even cremation is allowed depending on the prevailing circumstances.
“The family was given a couple of options but they declined. Last week, a Kamptee pastor’s body was cremated and ashes buried in traditional way at the cemetery. They could have done the same. Then, we asked them to conduct last rites on their own as grave diggers were not ready to make the pit and no one wanted to risk an infection,” Rev Barve said.
Barve added the family was also told to take the body to Bhandewadi where the government has allotted another burial ground to the community.
IA Shah, the committee’s treasurer, said they would soon issue a letter asking community members to conduct last rites of Covid-19 victims on their own. “Digging is a main issue during monsoon. The water hinders the process and there is no space for JCB to enter. The pit has to be deep in such cases,” he said.