mayor-visits-phaphamau-ghat-warns-people-against-burying-dead-in-the-sand--
mayor-visits-phaphamau-ghat-warns-people-against-burying-dead-in-the-sand--

Mayor visits Phaphamau ghat, warns people against burying dead in the sand

PRAYAGRAJ, May 20 (HS): On Thursday, Mayor Abhilasha Gupta ‘Nandi' visited Phaphamau ghat and advised residents against burying dead in the sand along the Ganga River's banks. She stated that the government had announced a financial assistance of Rs. 4000 for cremation of bodies, with the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) providing the funds. She also warned against the practice of burying remains at ghats in rural areas. “The PMC has formed squads to keep vigil at the ghats and has asked people not to bury dead in the sand. We are concerned that rains or rising river levels will wash the sands away, exposing dead remains and exacerbating infection concerns,” mayor told HS. She also said that police and PMC teams had stopped many people from burying dead in Phaphamau Ghat, Arail, Jhunsi, Shringverpur, and other cremation ghats across the city and in rural areas. “Our teams were stationed at the ghats to prevent the burying of dead and to warn people about the risk of infection that buried bodies represent when river levels rise. Water police in motorboats are monitoring the riverbanks to prevent people from dumping bodies,” she added. At a time when many local residents are trying to bury their loved ones who are dying as a result of Covid-19, the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) is offering financial assistance of up to Rs 4,000 per body to make cremation easier. The PMC is solely providing assistance at Phaphamau Ghat, where it has stationed a crew to monitor the cremations of people who have died of Covid. The assistance is being provided in compliance with a state government order in this regard. However, in order to receive this assistance, the relatives of the deceased must present paperwork from a pathology lab or a hospital to prove that the deceased person was Covid positive. All pertinent details of the bodies burned with PMC's financial assistance are dutifully entered and retained in the records. Mayor Abhilasha Gupta 'Nandi' stated that around 100 bodies of persons dying of Covid were cremated with the help of PMC from May 13 to May 20 (till 4 p.m.). She made it clear that, though PMC provides financial assistance and has a crew on site to monitor the cremations, it is the family members who perform all of the rituals. “During the first wave of Covid-19, the administration not only paid for, but actually performed, the cremation. The family members were not permitted to attend the ceremony. Family members are being allowed to remain present in PMC-supervised cremations this time, though with appropriate precautions,” she explained. “In Prayagraj, the cost of cremation is adding up to only Rs 4,000 per body, and this cost has also been fixed by the administration. Likewise, cost of burial in graveyards has been fixed at Rs 3,500 per body,” she concluded. HS/Abhishek Awasthi

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