oppn parties Profiteering Over Dead Bodies During The Pandemic?

News Snippets

  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
Australia thrassh India in the 4th Test, dim their chances of making the WTC finals, Rohit, Virat and Rahul fail once again
oppn parties
Profiteering Over Dead Bodies During The Pandemic?

By Anukriti Roy
First publised on 2021-04-19 09:30:25

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Anukriti is a student who dabbles in writing when she finds time.

The death toll due to Covid-19 is increasing every day. Although the infrastructure to give the dead a proper burial or cremation is stretched, it is abominable that some caretakers of cremation grounds in UP are trying to fleece relatives when they come with dead bodies. In a report in The Times of India today, it has been reported that across UP, 'managers' at cremation sites are asking people to pay much more than the usual rate for the cremation. Although the administration in Varanasi has said that it has fixed the rate at Rs 5000 for normal deaths and Rs 7000 for people dying of Covid if they choose wood and Rs 500 for electric crematorium, there are reports of people being charged anywhere between Rs 15000 and Rs 30000.

On their part, the caretakers have said that with bodies coming in unending piles, they are having a hard time procuring wood and other materials which have become scarce and costlier than before. They say that they are not overcharging but recovering costs along with normal professional fees for services rendered. The administration needs to look into the matter and ensure that adequate supply of wood and other material needed for performing last rites of the dead are made available at reasonable rates and in adequate quantities to cope up with the increasing number of dead bodies being brought to cremation grounds.

It is our failure as a nation if we pile more misery and pain on people who have lost their near and dear ones due to the pandemic. Since dead bodies cannot be kept for long, the relatives have no alternative but to pay astronomical sums for the cremation. It has been reported that some people have been made to pay Rs 30000 for cremating a body. Profiteering over dead bodies is unethical and the administration must ensure that the dead are given a proper send-off without unnecessarily burdening their kin.