In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, the Centre said that it has no information on the number of dead bodies dumped in the river Ganga during the peak of the second wave of COVID-19 last year
Several dead bodies were found floating in Ganga in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar at the peak of the second wave of Coronavirus. PTI
In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, the Centre said that it has no information on the number of dead bodies dumped in the river Ganga during the peak of the second wave of COVID-19 last year.
Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu on Tuesday said that the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) had sought a report from the concerned state governments on the bodies found floating in the river and the action taken or contemplated for ensuring proper handling, management, and disposal of the bodies for ensuring the protection of the river.
“The information regarding the number of COVID-19-related bodies estimated to have been dumped in the river Ganga is not available,” he said in a written response.
What is the case about floating dead bodies in Ganga that made headlines last year, let’s take a look:
At the peak of the second wave of coronavirus in India in May 2021, photos and videos started emerging in news and social media that showed dead bodies floating in river Ganga.
According to a report by the BBC, the horror of floating corpses first came to light on 10 May, when 71 corpses washed up on the river bank in Bihar’s Chausa village.
A day later, about 10 km from Chausa, several heavily decomposed bodies were found on the river bank in Gahmar village in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district.
Similar scenes were captured along the river bank in Ballia, Kannauj, Kanpur, Unnao, and Prayagraj. According to the Hindustan newspaper, police retrieved 62 corpses from Ballia district.
According to a report by Deccan Chronicle, over 2,000 dead bodies were retrieved from Ganga by various district administrations in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Photos and videos of dead bodies strewn across the river banks were also reported. Covered by orange-coloured shrouds, hundreds of dead bodies could be seen half-buried in sand.
The visuals highlighted the situation of overburdened crematoriums as well as increased the suspicion that COVID-19 deaths were being under-reported.
Political ire over dead bodies in Ganga
The countless photos and videos of dead bodies in and around the river Ganga caused a political storm as Opposition leaders criticised the Centre, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar governments.
On 13 May, 2021, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadera demanded a judicial probe headed by a high court judge into bodies floating in Ganga.
“Bodies are floating in the ganga in Ballia and Ghazipur. Reports are coming in of mass burials on the banks of the river in Unnao. Official numbers from cities like Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Jhansi and Kanpur appear to be grossly under-reported…” she tweeted.
“What is happening in UP is inhuman and criminal. The government is busy image building while people are suffering unimaginably. There must be an immediate judicial enquiry headed by a High Court Judge into these events,” she added.
On 24 May, 2021, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Centre is solely responsible for bodies flowing in the Ganga and it is not a collective responsibility.
“The entire country and the world are sad seeing such photos, but one has to understand the pain of those who left their family members along the river Ganga out of compulsion. They are not at fault. It is not a collective responsibility, but is only of the central government,” he said.
On 22 July, 2021, RJD MP Manoj Jha said in the Rajya Sabha that Parliament owes an apology to those who died during the second wave but whose deaths were not acknowledged.
“This apology is not just from me… we should issue a collective apology from this House for those people whose bodies were floating in the Ganga,” Jha said.
On 13 May, 2021, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that the Uttar Pradesh government must be held accountable.
“Bodies found floating in the Ganges are not a statistic, they’re someone’s father, mother, brother and sister. What has transpired shakes you to your core. There has to be accountability from the very government that has failed its people so badly,” Yadav said in a tweet.
RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav too attacked the government over the issue of dead bodies in the river Ganga.
“While they were alive they did not get medicine, oxygen, beds and treatment. Now after death, no shrouds, wood, and the ground where they could be cremated. Out of extreme miseries dead bodies were thrown into the Ganges. Dogs are eating corpses. Hindus are being buried. Where are you taking this country and humanity?” he tweeted.
Fear of pollution, virus in the river
Reports of dead bodies floating in the Ganga triggered several public bodies into action to mark a possible health and environmental hazard.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), as the Centre, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh governments to furnish a report on the incidents of dead bodies floating in the river, some of the bodies were suspected to be of COVID-19 victims.
The Jal Shakti Ministry later responded to NHRC’s demand and said that the dumping of bodies did not increase pollution in the river.
The government also directed a study to find traces of coronavirus in Ganga. The study was conducted by the National Mission for Clean Ganga in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR’s) Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), Lucknow, the Central Pollution Control Board and the state pollution control boards.
It found no traces of the novel coronavirus in the river water.
With inputs from agencies
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.