India Covid crisis: Is Delhi underplaying its death toll? Ground realities suggest so
Tarushi Aswani/New Delhi
Relatives of a Covid-19 victim mourn during a cremation in New Delhi. Photo: AFP
Spiralling contagion deaths go undercounted and underreported, as fear grips the national capital s panic-stricken residents.
As Covid-19 devastates Delhi, the national capital of India, deaths go undercounted and underreported, ground realities suggest.
Ankush Sharma, a caretaker at the Madanpur Khadar crematorium, which is located adjacent to Faridabad district in neighbouring Haryana in the national capital region (NCR), is overwhelmed by the growing number of bodies he has to cremate over the past four days.
Burning pyres refuse to die at Noida ground thehindu.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehindu.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Noida: Operators of the city’s largest cremation ground, Antim Niwas, launched an online registration service on Thursday for conducting last rites.
“People looking to cremate bodies can send required documents through WhatsApp (8448153825). Once those are verified, they will be allocated a slot with a unique code. We are trying to issue a number along with the time slot so that the process can be smooth. There has been a lot of rush at the facility and people are having to queue up for hours,” said Mahesh Saxena general secretary of Lok Manch, the NGO that manages the Sector 94 facility on behalf of Noida Authority.
Noida: While the official Covid death toll in Gautam Budh Nagar has been less than 10 for the past one week, Antim Niwas cremation ground has a different story to tell. The crematorium has been handling 50-60 bodies daily, according to officials.
The district has several other cremation grounds, graveyards and burial grounds apart from the Sector 94 facility and most of them have been crowded for the past few days.
On Wednesday, till 5.30 pm, 55 bodies were cremated at Antim Niwas and several people were still in the queue for the last rites of their friends and relatives. According to officials, most of the people died due to lack of oxygen and their bodies were wrapped in disposable bags.