Bihar, UP border districts resolve cremation issues

BHABUA Officials of bordering districts of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh and Kaimur in Bihar have resolved the problem of cremations along the banks of river Ganga that the locals were facing ever since bodies were recovered from the river in the area

BHABUA

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Officials of bordering districts of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh and Kaimur in Bihar have resolved the problem of cremations along the banks of river Ganga that the locals were facing ever since bodies were recovered from the river in the area.

As per an agreement between the administration of the two neighbouring districts, people from Bihar would be allowed to use nearby cremation ghats in UP if they have made arrangements of firewood and related material for a proper funeral, said Kaimur’s superintendent of police Rakesh Kumar.

The arrangement included firewood and other materials needed during the funeral.

Bihar Police have also set up checkpoints on roads approaching UP where officials were registering the names, addresses and phone numbers of people accompanying a body. They share the information with their UP counterparts to allow the funeral.

The arrangement has been made to ensure bodies are not disposed of in Ganga river without cremation, SP Kumar said.

Ghazipur SP Dr Om Prakash Singh said there was no ban on entry of bodies from Bihar for funeral. The administration was only ensuring bodies are not thrown in Ganga, he said.

People in Kaimur and Rohtas districts of south-west Bihar traditionally go to Varanasi to cremation of their loved ones, but the waiting time at their preferred Manikarnika ghat in Varanasi has gone up to 20-24 hours due to rising Covid deaths.

Now, the people from these districts prefer to go to Zamania in bordering Ghazipur district in UP for cremations. Because of the sudden surge of crowds, firewood has become dearer at Zaminia, tehsildar Ghanshyam said.