The outbreak of COVID-19 has thrown up many a challenge, one of which is giving a decent burial to the patients who succumb to the virus, a task that is usually unnoticed, unrecognised, and fraught with obstacles.
But here is a gutsy public health officer, who not only overcame the initial fears associated with the task but also stirred the collective conscience of a few others in performing the last rites of 72 patients (and still counting) in the last one year.
K. Chinnaiah, a sanitary inspector in the Chittoor Municipal Corporation, was nervous when he took up the first assignment of burying the unclaimed body of a COVID-19 patient during the first wave in 2020.
Soon, the 36-year-old officer was successful in sloughing away the fear unleashed by the pandemic. After much brainwashing, counselling, and creating awareness on dealing with the bodies, Mr. Chinnaiah succeeded in forming a dedicated team of municipal workers to give the dead a decent burial.
People were panic-struck during the first wave. Digging a grave in government lands used to attract the ire of the villagers residing nearby. They would often not relent until the intervention of the police and revenue officials, he said.
With the number of deaths increasing at the district headquarters hospital here, Mr. Chinnaiah brought the complexity involved in arranging the burials to the notice of Municipal Commissioner P. Vishwanath.
Soon, a one-acre forest land at the foot of a hill on the outskirts of Chittoor was earmarked for the purpose.
“Our workers were anxious initially, but a sense of duty helped them overcome it. The workers do everything – from packing the bodies to transportation to digging the graves, and burying them. And they execute the task in strict adherence to the norms such as ensuring the correct depth of pits and sprinkling of disinfectants. They are also educating people to shun fears about COVID deaths,” Mr. Chinnaiah said.
“Compared to the first wave, the casualties are more during the second wave,” he observed.
Fear persists
However, despite a year-long campaign, the response from the people has not been very encouraging.
“Only a few could be convinced that the virus will not be active in a body after a certain time. Only a couple of families are coming forward to accept the bodies of their relatives,” he said.
“In accordance with the Commissioner’s instructions, ‘one body one pit’ norm is being strictly ensured as a mark of honour to the departed souls,” Mr. Chinnaiah said.
Awareness drive
The sanitary inspector is also leading from the front in creating awareness among people on COVID-appropriate behaviour such as wearing face mask, maintaining physical distance, and using hand sanitiser.
“Our mission is also to minimise deaths. Focus is also on home isolation cases and tracing their contacts. Most casualties occur due to neglect of co-morbid conditions during home isolation. We have formed a good number of paramedical teams to tackle such cases. It is also alarming that many casualties are among people below the age of 40 during the second wave,” he said.