Villagers allege problems in cremation as police hike vigil on Bihar-UP border

Buxar/Bhabua The recovery of 82 bodies from river Ganga from near Chausa since Monday and the subsequent blame game between officials of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has compounded problems for residents of border villages, who say the UP police were not allowing them to cremate bodies at ghats they have used in the past

Buxar/Bhabua

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The recovery of 82 bodies from river Ganga from near Chausa since Monday and the subsequent blame game between officials of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has compounded problems for residents of border villages, who say the UP police were not allowing them to cremate bodies at ghats they have used in the past.

People from villages in Kaimur district of Bihar often use nearby Jamania Ghat in Ghazipur district of UP for cremation of bodies.

On Wednesday and Thursday, some of the villagers going to Jamania from Baraura village of Kaimur district for cremation were stopped by the UP police. “They pleaded that they had got instructions not to allow bodies to enter UP for cremation,” said a family member of Hari Kishore Singh who was accompanying his body for funeral. The family had planned cremation at Jamania. Four such families were denied entry, he said.

Jamania subdivisional magistrate (SDM) Ghanshyam dismissed the charge. “There is no ban on cremation. Only, people are being asked not to dispose bodies in Ganga as it will pollute the river. Some mischievous elements are trying to portray a different picture and create unnecessary tension between the two states,” he said.

The tension between two states mounted after Buxar district administration put a big net to prevent bodies from flowing downstream Ganga from UP into Bihar. Boat patrols even entered UP areas reportedly to see if any body is being dumped in Ganga in night.

The Buxar administration has formed a team to keep an account of bodies and from where they are coming. “The bodies are coming from the direction of flow of the river,” said the SDO (Sadar) K K Upadhyay.

Three bodies recovered in Bhojpur

Although no body were found in Ganga near Buxar on Friday, three bodies were recovered further downstream near Sinha Ghat in Bhojpur district.

“Two bodies have been recovered in a decomposed state,” said Barhara block development officer (BDO) Jaivardhan Gupta.

Buxar district magistrate Aman Samir said on Friday that 80% of the bodies fished out at Chausa were covered with shrouds used during cremation. “No body was found wrapped in hospital or PPE kits,” he said.

Samir said there are only 30 Covid positive cases in Chausa area while Buxar district has 1,033 active cases.