E-Paper
For mourning kin of Covid victims, it’s a painful wait for last rites in Mohali
As deaths started rising in April, the crematorium in Sector 73 had created a separate enclosure for Covid victims. Since April 1, as many as 186 persons have succumbed to the virus in the district.
Amid a rise in Covid-19 deaths, the waiting time at Mohali’s sole crematorium, located in Sector 73, has gone up. On Sunday, bodies of 20 Covid victims were cremated but the families of 13 victims were asked to wait till Monday. Again, on Monday, seven other families were asked to wait till Tuesday.
As deaths started rising in April, the crematorium in Sector 73 had created a separate enclosure for Covid victims. Since April 1, as many as 186 persons have succumbed to the virus in the district.
Narinder Pandey, the head priest of the crematorium says, “We had to ask seven families to wait till Tuesday to carry out the last rites of their loved ones. We are helpless. We can cremate only 20 bodies a day. Only four bodies are cremated in an electric crematorium in a day.”
A resident of Sector 69, whose father died due to Covid-19 at a private hospital on Saturday, said, “We were already shattered by the death. Now, we have been asked to wait for another day for the cremation. Even the hospitals don’t hand over bodies to the family. They only give it to the nodal officer as per the protocol.”
During the waiting period of over 24 hours, the mourning families have additional tasks—to arrange a 1 litre sanitiser and four PPE suits. Three PPE suits are for the crematorium staff and one is for the family member who is allowed to light the pyre.
90 quintals of wood used every day
With 20 bodies being cremated every day, 90 quintals of wood are being used every day since April 1. For cremating one dead body, four quintals are used. Before April, only 24 quintals of wood were used. The cremation is done by three employees of the cremation ground and one member of the family.
Mohali MC commissioner Kamal Kumar Garg said, “We have already made a special enclosure for the cremation of Covid victims. We have enough space. I will check, how there is a waiting period of one day.”
