HYDERABAD: In the stillness of night, tongues of flames kept rising from funeral pyres, devouring the bodies of those who had fought an unsuccessful battle with Covid-19 virus, at the ESI cremation ground at Erragadda here, even as more number of bodies arrived in ambulances along with the health staff in PPE kits.
When this correspondent visited the cremation ground, about 15 pyres were burning, turning the bodies into ashes simultaneously as Covid-19 was having the last laugh, accentuating the calamity that has befallen the humanity.
As the bodies were going up in flames, the cremation ground staff began making space for more bodies that were arriving and later placing them on funeral pyres.
They were careful to remove the ashes of the body before they clear it for the one waiting to be placed on the pyre.
The staff of the cremation ground said that during the last few weeks about 200 to 250 bodies have been burnt on the pyres.
The figure is vouched by that many vessels with ashes of the dead kept at the office room of the cremation ground, with each one of them bearing tags to identify which vessel belonged to whom.
“Every day at least 35 to 40 bodies are burnt here. They are of both Covid and suspected Covid patients. Basically, anyone in the State who cannot find a place to have final rites lands here,” said a staff member at the ground on condition of anonymity.
“Some have death certificates, specifying the cause of death as pneumonia, some saying the cause of death unknown, some declaring that it is Covid-19,” he added.
Ambulances come and go every one hour with four to five family members carrying the bodies.
“We are seeing about 10 to 15 bodies being brought from Gandhi and Osmania hospitals every day. The rest are from private hospitals. If the body is from government hospital then no price is charged, but if it is from private hospital, the diesel, wood and workers charges come to about Rs 15,000,” added another staff member.
The earthen pots left behind bear witness to the bodies already burnt indicating that the spike in deaths has been around for at least two to three weeks.
Hundreds of pots with ashes are numbered with the date on which the cremation was held and with the serial number allotted to avoid confusion amidst the growing numbers.
“Fifty per cent of the pots are cleared. The remaining 50 per cent are still here as families do not want to return to this place and some of those pots are here from July 15.
"The main reason for the token system is that it takes time for the body to burn out and, to prevent overcrowding, the families are sent away and asked to collect ashes later,” added one staff member.
At Barkas burial ground the bodies of at least five persons who died due to Covid- 19 are buried as per Islamic traditions and at the ESI cremation ground, about 25 such bodies are burnt as per Hindu rituals.
However, Director of Medical Education, Dr Ramesh Reddy defended the number of deaths shared in the daily media bulletins.
Referring to a viral video, which showed nearly 25 to 30 bodies being burnt at ESI simultaneously at night, he said that happened a few days ago due to shortage of manpower which led to a “backlog” in performing the last rites.
“Regular staff at the crematorium are not attending to Covid-19 bodies. The delay occurred to some differences between two groups which resulted in accumulation of backlog,” he said, and pointing out: “When we release the bulletin, accurate information is given. There can be no two opinions about it,” he said.