ANGUL/BERHAMPUR: At a time when family members or relatives of Covid victims are unable to conduct cremations either due to compulsion or fear of contracting the disease, social activists, politicians and individuals are ensuring that those who passed away get the dignity they deserve.
At Berhampur, MLA Bikram Panda has been facilitating cremation of Covid victims. With help of volunteers of ‘Mo Parivaar’ programme, Panda on Wednesday cremated two victims of Rangunibandha Sahi. Prior to that between Saturday and Tuesday, he facilitated the last rites of 11 infected and suspected victims whose family members did not come forward to touch the bodies fearing infection.
He has also opened a help desk at the Nilakantheswar crematorium where wood and other help required for cremation are being provided to families in distress free of cost. At Bagedia village in Angul, a social worker conducted cremation of a Covid victim on Thursday as her family members could not arrange for the same and none of the neighbours came to their help.
The victim Kanaklata Sahu was under home isolation for the last few days after testing positive. Her condition, however, deteriorated on the day and she passed away. As the family members were also under isolation, they sought help from neighbours in facilitating shifting of the body to the cremation ground but none paid heed. The body lay unattended for six hours till a social worker Chinmay Das received information and rushed to Sahu’s house donning a PPE kit. He arranged a motorcycle to carry the body to the cremation ground where the last rites were conducted.