Prayagraj: The banks of river Ganga and Yamuna, which were echoing with the chimes of aarti and clapping of devotees till last month, are now dominated by the pall of gloom and smoke of the woods of the pyre at the cremation ghats. At the two-prominent cremation ghats of the city, including Rasoolabad ghat and Daraganj located at the banks of Ganga, there are queues of relatives and ambulances that reach the ghats throughout the day. The waiting starts at the wee hours of each day and the cremation starts around 7am and goes till 8 or 9 in the night. The pyres are lighted one after the other as far as space beside the river allows.
“This ghat used to receive around 15-20 bodies each day but, today we are receiving around 70 to 80 bodies. The entire road leading, to the ghat is jammed with vehicles and parked ambulances. People are coming to the ghat not only from the city but from the other neighbouring districts as well,” said Abhimanyu Tripathi whose family has been cremating the dead for several generations at Rasoolabad ghat.
The situation is no different at Daraganj ghat. Chandan Mishra, one of the priests conducting the last rites at the ghat, said, “It is an unbearable pain and we all will remember this for our entire life. Bodies of young, ageing 25-30 years old are also there, along with the elderly who are falling prey to the virus.”
At Karelaghat and the ghat located at Phaphamau side of river Ganga, the situation is more or less the same. The priests and those performing the last rites are receiving many more bodies as they were receiving in normal days.
The scene at the graveyard, used for burying the bodies of the Muslim community, is no different. The present coronavirus has resulted into record number of deaths in Muslim community too.
The pain and agony of those performing the last rites and among those driving the vehicle for bringing the bodies at the cremation ghats is no less than those who have lost their family members. Raju, driver of one of the vehicles of Nagar Nigam, says he is not been able to concentrate on the nine days of Puja at his house. He is not able to sleep and often dream of the cremation ghats and pray to god that the crisis gets over soon.
Likewise, Mohammed Moin, who drives a bus for bringing bodies from the neighbouring Pratapgarh district also prays to almighty that things get normal in the coming days. He is in the business of bringing bodies for several years. Inspite of keeping Roza, he is not letting the fast come in his duty for being human.
Situation is so grim that there is shortage of vehicles for transporting the bodies to the cremation ghats. Till last month, around 45 buses, in the neighbouring Pratapgarh district which were used to bring the dead bodies to Prayagraj, were without business but nowadays same buses ply twice a day to bring the dead bodies. The bus owners have not increased the fair for bringing the bodies.