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Giving dignity to the dead: Ashes of 137 people immersed in Ludhiana
As the Covid cases have begun to decline in the district, the crematoriums are also vacating their lockers where the ashes of unclaimed bodies have been stored for months as no one ever came looking for them
As the Covid cases have begun to decline in the district, the crematoriums are also vacating their lockers where the ashes of unclaimed bodies have been stored for months as no one ever came looking for them.
The crematorium near Dholewal military complex on Tuesday took the ashes of 137 such unclaimed bodies and immersed them at the water bodies near Prachin Shiv Mandir in Neelo and Katana Sahib Gurdwara.
Among the 137 unclaimed bodies were eight which were Covid-infected.
Sharing details, Ranjodh Singh, member of Dukh Bhajan Seva Society and president of Ramgarhia crematorium, said these were the ashes of bodies cremated during the first and second wave.
“We had decided to immerse the remains as many such ashes were kept in the lockers for many months,” he added.
Singh said that many among the dead were migrants, whose families may have migrated during the lockdown and did not return to perform the last rites of the dead.
Pankaj Sharma, a priest at the crematorium, said as the ashes continued to pile up, they increased the number of lockers from 30 to 59 and the count further reached 100.
“As the number of deaths began to drop, we decided to give a send-off to those who remained anonymous and no one came to claim them. There were ashes of eight Covid patients and no one turned up to claim their mortal remains,” Pankaj said.
He said the ashes were loaded in a truck . “While 60 of remains were immersed in the water body near Katana Sahib, the remaining ones were immersed in Sirhind canal near Shiv Mandir at Neelo.
