Salem sees 10 fold increase in number of Covid bodies cremated

SALEM: Amid the second wave of the pandemic, the number of bodies brought to Salem’s three crematoria–at Seelanaickenpatti, Shevapet and Johnsonpet–has shot up. This is largely because the Salem City Municipal Corporation (SCMC) had said the bodies of all Covid victims in the region should be cremated only in these facilities, sources said.

This applies even for patients from other districts who succumbed at the Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital (GMKMCH). Health officials said that earlier, each crematorium would receive two or three bodies a day. But the number has now shot up to 20-25. To meet demand, these crematoriums are now functioning from 6 am to 8 pm.

But still, people have to wait in line for hours. The SCMC has fixed the cost of cremation at Rs 1,750. The situation at burial grounds too is dire. Seetha, who works at the TVS burial ground in Salem, said they used to receive three or four bodies a week, and a roughly equal number of unidentified bodies. But now, they receive three or four bodies a day.

“As the SCMC issued instructions against burying Covid victims, we have stopped accepting those bodies. We ask for a doctor’s certificate on the cause of death if we get a body below the age of 60 years,” she added. “Since the pandemic began, there has been an increase in death among people in the 75-90 age group. We don’t always know the cause of death. We allow only up to 10 people to come to the burial ground with each body.