New Delhi, Feb 7: There is no information available about the number of dead bodies found floating on the Ganga during the peak of the second Covid wave, the government said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Junior Jal Shakti Minister Bishweswar Tudu said: “Information regarding number of COVID-19 related dead bodies estimated to have been dumped in the river Ganga is not available.”
The admission was in response to a question from Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien, who also sought information on steps taken to dispose of the bodies in accordance with Covid protocols.
The minister said “unclaimed/unidentified, burnt/partially burnt dead bodies” had been found on the river or its banks, and that these incidents had been reported from districts in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
He also said the ministry (via the National Mission for Clean Ganga) had sought a report on the bodies and action taken, including disposal, from the respective state governments.
Advisories were also issued to the chief secretaries of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Bengal, he said.
The Congress hit out at the government’s response, with senior leader KC Venugopal pointing out the current reply was almost identical to that provided to questions about deaths due to oxygen shortage.
“The government is misleading the Parliament. It is the same reply…I got the same reply when I asked how many deaths had happened because of oxygen shortage…” Venugopal told NDTV.
Other opposition leaders were equally critical, with O’Brien’s colleague accusing the government of “lying” and “hiding facts”.
There were pictures published in the media (showing) dead bodies floating in the Ganges… The government should tell Parliament how many dead bodies were thrown. The government is hiding facts… it is against democracy, an insult to Parliament,” the Trinamool’s Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said.
The RJD’s Manoj Jha said: “There cannot be a more insensitive and indecent answer than this.”
In May-June last year the grisly sight of dead bodies (believed to be of those who died of Covid) floating down the holy Ganga made headlines in India and even across the world.
The Supreme Court called it a “serious problem” and hauled up the concerned governments.
At the peak of the second wave, when between 3,000 and 4,000 Covid-related deaths were reported (officially) daily, hundreds of bodies began washing up along the banks of the Ganga in Bihar and UP.
It was assumed the bodies were of Covid victims from rural areas, where, in the absence of protocols, locals fearful of the virus spreading any further were dumping the bodies in the river.
There were also reports – denied by the government – that people were dumping the bodies because of the exorbitant price of firewood for cremations.
The bodies led to a public health scare and a blame-game between the UP and Bihar governments.
The central government stepped in mid-May, asking both Bihar and UP to prevent further dumping of bodies, and focus on a dignified cremation and safe disposal of remains.
A month after the horrific sight of dead bodies on the Ganga, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his government’s “unparalleled” handling of the Covid crisis.
