MANGALURU: Locals in Pachanady in Mangaluru disrupted the funeral of a 75-year-old woman who died of coronavirus on Thursday forcing the authorities and the police to cremate the body outside the city amid tight police security despite opposition from the residents in the early hours of Friday.
On Thursday, some rumours on the social media created unnecessary panic among the locals in Pachanady in Mangaluru as people including women, children gathered in large numbers near the Hindu Rudrabhoomi (crematorium) and opposed the cremation of the body.
Immediately Mangaluru North MLA Bharat Shetty rushed to the site and asked authorities not to conduct the funeral without the permission of the locals. Hence, the revenue officials and the police decided to change the location of funeral.
When the body reached Kaikunje crematorium, the locals opposed the funeral. However, the body was cremated amid tight police security at around 2 am on Friday. Prior to this, the officials had decided to cremate the body at Baddakatte crematorium in Bantwal, where the deceased woman hails from. However, the locals there opposed and stopped officials from going ahead with cremation.
District Health Officer (DHO) Ramachandra Bayari refused to comment on the opposition of locals for the cremation and said that the after handing over the body, the responsibility to choose the cremation site lies on the revenue department and the police.
MLA Bharat Shetty speaking to The New Indian Express said that social distancing went for a toss as more than 1000 people including women and children gathered in large number at Pachanady on Thursday late night. "Cremation with fire is accepted method to dispose Covid19 infected body. Since, they were reluctant to move from the site due to rumors and misconceptions. To maintain law and order we had to ask the authorities to change the cremation site," he said.