After two days, Uttar Pradesh government allows cremation of bodies from Bihar

SASARAM: Following the intervention of Kaimur district administration, the Uttar Pradesh government, after two days, on Friday allowed the cremation of bodies from Bihar on the banks of Ganga at Jamania in Ghazipur district.
Incidentally, the bodies from Rohtas and Kaimur districts were not being allowed to be taken to Ganga ghats in the neighbouring Ghazipur for cremation after a dozen of decomposed bodies, many suspected to be of Covid-19 victims, were found floating on the river bank in UP as well as in Buxar earlier this week. After that, the Ghazipur administration had banned the entry of bodies from Bihar for cremation.
Ghazipur district administration has created three police checkposts on Bihar border and the police are allowing people to carry bodies only after making entry of the details of the deceased and their family members and giving undertaking that the bodies would be properly cremated on the earmarked Ganga ghats.
Gazipur DM Mangla Prasad Singh told this newspaper over phone on Friday that a control room had also been set up at the cremation grounds and only people reporting there would be allowed to cremate the bodies in the presence of police personnel.
“The step was taken after the reports of dumping of bodies in the Ganga clandestinely by the kith and kin of the deceased,” the DM said.
Kaimur SP Raklesh Kumar said the matter has been resolved amicably after talks with his Ghazipur counterpart and three checkposts have been created on the Bihar border to assist the UP police.
“Ghazipur SP has also advised us to ask people from Bihar to carry funeral pyres with the bodies, so that there would be no doubt about dumping the bodies in Ganga river,” the Kaimur SP said.
Locals claimed that many families from Aurangabad, Rohtas and Kaimur districts preferred to perform cremation of their kith and kin on the Ganga river bank at Varanasi, but long queue on the two cremation grounds forced them to head towards Kakarait ghat of Jamania in UP. Several people, who visited Varanasi to perform the last rites of their kin, said they were kept waiting for 15 to 24 hours for the cremation.