KOLKATA: Ashes of those who die of COVID-19 in the area under the city's civic body and are cremated as per their religious practices will henceforth be handed over to their kin keeping in mind the emotions of their families, a top KMC official said on Wednesday.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has also decided to allow the family members and kin of the victims who are buried to pay their last respect from a distance, he said.
However, KMC will not hand over the ashes of the patients' navel after cremation for fear of transmission of the contagion, he said.
So far, the civic body was not informing the families of coronavirus victims where their bodies were cremated or buried.
We have been getting requests from the kin of coronavirus victims to allow them to be present during the last rites.
We consulted specialists and have decided to hand over the ashes to them after the cremation of the victims.
But not the ashes of the navel (which are usually immersed in rivers by Hindus) as it may cause the disease to spread," the official told PTI.
The KMCs decision came after the state health department decided to allow relatives of COVID-19 victims see their bodies on following strict protocols.
Cremation of those who die due to COVID-19 is being carried out at electric crematoriums at temperatures above 800 degree centigrade.
At that temperature no virus can survive, even coronavirus. So handing over the ashes to the family membersis is absolutely safe.
"But since it is believed that the navel does not burn and may therefore transmit coronavirus we will not hand it over to the victims' relatives, he said.
No large gatherings for the last rites will be allowed and only close family members of the victims will be allowed, he added.
The state health department has recently altered its rules to allow relatives of coronavirus victims to see the bodies for 30 minutes to pay their last respects.
Now the bodies are being kept in a suitable place for the purpose but will not be handed over to their relatives and the civic body will carry out the last rites.
Once the cremation by the civic body is over, the victims' families will receive a text message informing them when they will be handed over the ashes (asthi) in a small earthen pot," the official said.
The families of the coronavirus victims will also get the death certificate issued by the civic body immediately after the cremation is over, he said.
About burials, the KMC official said that family members of the coronavirus victims will be allowed to offer soil as per the custom.
The Calcutta High Court had last week directed the West Bengal government to file a report on allegations that bodies of patients who succumbed to COVID-19 were not cremated or buried in a respectful manner.