Amidst the rising cases of Coronavirus-related deaths in the state of Maharashtra, it has now come to light that the bodies of the deceased are being wrapped in garbage bags. On Monday (April 12), Maharashtra BJP leader Kirit Somaiya shared harrowing visuals of corpses that were being taken for cremation from the Saket Global Hospital in Thane.
In the said video, it could be seen that the dead bodies were carried in stretchers and placed in the hearse. One of the corpses had a black garbage bag taped over it while the face was wrapped in a polythene bag. A total of 3 other bodies of Coronavirus patients were found wrapped in white plastic that was clearly not the prescribed body bags. The corpses were placed side-by-side in the vehicle and ferried to the crematorium. The vehicle, bearing the registration number MH04 KF2932, is registered in Thane.
“Now Thackeray Sarkar using Plastic/Kachara Bags to Pack #COVID Dead body,” Kirit Somaiya tweeted. He questioned the government over the manner in which the dead bodies were being disposed. The incident has sparked outrage on social media, with many activists and residents questioning the apathy of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government towards the deceased individuals.
Now Thackeray Sarkar using Plastic/Kachara Bags to Pack #COVID Deadbody
— Kirit Somaiya (@KiritSomaiya) April 12, 2021
आता ठाकरे सरकार कोव्हीड डेडबॉडी पॅक करण्यासाठी प्लास्टिक / कचरा बॅग वापरत आहेत @BJP4India @BJP4Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/Bkxbj9Y77E
While speaking about the matter, an official informed TOI, “There could possibly be a shortage of body bags as the volume of deaths has risen in the last few days, forcing the staff to use bedsheets to wrap the bodies.” Reportedly, the Saket Global Covid hospital in Thane had been facing a shortage of body bags. Meanwhile, the Thane Municipal Corporation has dismissed the allegations. Additional commissioner at Thane Municipal Corporation, Ganesh Deshmukh, claimed that no bedsheets were used to wrap the dead bodies.
8 Coronavirus dead bodies burnt on a single pyre in Maharashtra
Earlier on Wednesday (April 7), a civic official informed that the corpses of 8 Coronavirus patients were burnt on a single pyre due to a lack of space in a makeshift crematorium in the Beed district of Maharashtra. Reportedly, residents in Ambajogai town had opposed cremating Covid-19 infected bodies in the crematorium. As such, the civic authorities had to take the corpses to a new space on Mandwa road. The area is about 2km away from the town.
Chief Officer at Ambajogai Municipal Council said, “We had to set up one large pyre and cremate eight bodies on Tuesday. It was a big pyre and the bodies were kept at a certain distance from each other.” He had also unveiled plans to make the temporary crematorium waterproof before the onset of the monsoon season. It must be mentioned that Maharashtra is witnessing a tremendous spike in Coronavirus cases and fatalities. The state has 5,66,278 active cases and has witnessed 58,245 fatalities as of April 13.
