The coronavirus is continuing to wreak havoc in India has exacted a heavy toll on those who work in cemeteries and crematoriums, leading some to a breaking point.
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"I used to feel very sad in the beginning and would burst into tears, but after having performed burial rituals for over 1300 bodies, I am emotionally drained," one crematorium volunteer told Israel Hayom.
In the 24 hours ending on Tuesday morning, India reported 3,285 coronavirus deaths, bringing the toll to 201,165,000. According to the Indian Health Ministry, it has become the nation with the second most coronavirus cases in the world. In terms of mortality, it ranks fourth, after the United States, Brazil, and Mexico.
The most affected state in India is Maharashtra, with a total population of 114 million, of which 4.4 million have been infected since March last year. The state has reported 66,179 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic. The state's recovery rate is 83.2%. Pune and Mumbai are the most affected cities in this state. Mumbai has recored 12,920 deaths and Pune 9,114. Due to these deaths, the cemeteries and cremation workers have also been under unprecedented stress.
"We started burying the bodies of COVID casualties when no one else was willing to touch them," the crematorium volunteer said. "I will never forget the first dead body wrapped in a plastic bag that we had to bury, the first COVID casualty in [the city of] Pune.
"After crematorium workers saw the dead body, they refused to perform the burial ceremony and left. We asked the government for permission and arranged a funeral. Since then, we have been burying all those who perish from COVID.
"We are a team of 70 volunteers and have performed more than 1300 burial ceremonies. We are doing this to ensure that everyone receives an honorable burial. My team and I are constantly on standby and are ready to spring into action the moment we get a call for help. On a daily basis, we attend to 10-15 bodies on an average. The whole day is consumed in bringing these bodies from hospitals to the burial grounds."
When asked about how a body can get cremated in his city, the volunteer said, "all the hospitals in Pune are connected through Whatsapp. We get in touch with the relatives of the dead, and with the help of the administrations, we bring the bodies to the cemetery and perform the ritual."
The death rate was much lower in India during the first wave of the pandemic, the volunteer said, and "people were much more terrified. The lockdown was stricter back then and everyone was more cautious. Somehow, this time people are less afraid, even though the infection and mortality rate is much higher.
"During the first wave, people were so afraid, they stood 20-25 feet apart from the bodies of close family members. Now, families are losing more than one member, which rarely happened during the first wave. Recently, we heard of a case when the father died of COVID, and in the next two weeks, so did his wife and son."
He said that the cemeteries in the city are getting overburdened due to ever-rising death tolls. COVID patients are buried under plastic bags as per the protocol. Since plastics take much longer to decay, we are not sure what happens to the dead bodies trapped within. The administration is continuously allowing formation of new cemeteries and yet all of them are being consumed by ever increasing dead bodies.
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