Ghaziabad: The Hindon crematorium has been overwhelmed with bodies over the past few days, leading to long queues and longer waiting time. By 5pm on Saturday, 39 bodies had either been cremated or were waiting in line for the final rites. The number of bodies cremated the day before was 53.
Authorities at the crematorium said at least 350 bodies had been brought to the facility in the 15 days of this month. During the same period last year, 250 bodies had been cremated here.
There is no official data to ascertain how many of these bodies were of Covid patients. Officials said many of the bodies that had come to the Hindon crematorium were from neighbouring areas such as Hapur, Noida and Delhi. In many cases, the bodies are being cremated amid strict Covid protocols as precaution, but that does not necessarily mean that the person being cremated was a Covid patient. According to health department data, only one person with Covid has died in Ghaziabad this month.
“The situation here is much worse than what we experienced in April last year. In the first 15 days of April, we had cremated 250 bodies last year. This time, the number is around 350 and counting,” said Pandit Manish Sharma, who is in charge of the Hindon Moksh Dham. “The cremation of Covid patients’ bodies is handled by the respective administrations. According to my knowledge, nine such bodies were brought here on Saturday,” he added.
Of the 53 bodies that had come to the crematorium on Friday, 18 were cremated under strict Covid norms. But this increase in the number of bodies has also led to a long waiting time. “At present, the waiting time is more than three hours on an average,” said Sharma.
The Hindon crematorium has 53 platforms for normal cremations and 10 for Covid-related deaths. There is one electric crematorium here, but it is hardly used to its optimum capacity because of frequent technical snags.
Ram Prasad, who was waiting to get his uncle cremated, said, “I came here from Loni around 10am. It is past 3pm now and the line hasn’t moved much. I guess it is going to take another three-four hours. There is nothing one can do. I saw many people lose their cool and get into arguments with the management here.”
Asked to clarify how many of the bodies were of Covid patients, an administrative official explained, “A number of bodies are being brought here from other districts and they don’t necessarily add to Ghaziabad’s tally. All Covid deaths are registered in government records. Cremations are done under Covid protocols as precaution. That doesn’t mean the person died of Covid.”
The crematorium is also staring at a shortage of wood used for lighting the pyres. Officials said they were left with 5,000 quintal of wood, which would last just a week at the current rate of cremations.