Burial Grounds, Cremation Centres Reserved In Kolkata For COVID-19 Victims

Kolkata: Cremation of COVID-19 can be a daunting task just as the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) learnt after a controversy over the cremation of West Bengal’s first victim. 

Now, KMC has reserved two burial grounds and a crematorium for the last rites of coronavirus victims in the city, reported PTI.

According to the Mayor In Council (MIC), Health, Atin Ghosh, KMC has designated a two-furnace cremation centres at Dhapa grounds, a burial ground at Baghmari for Muslims and another at Topsia for Hindus, said the report.

“These burial grounds and cremation centres have been reserved so that there is no confusion and commotion,” Ghosh told PTI.

Of the 10 afflicted with COVID-19 in the state, one has died. The last rites of the elderly man was considerably delayed on Monday as wary locals put up a road blockade in the city’s Nimtala area to stop government officials from cremating him, saying it could lead to virus transmission.

The corporation has also requested the state health department to provide basic training to KMC staffers in handling the bodies of people who died due to the disease, and also lay down a set of rules to be kept in mind while performing the last rites, the report added.