As bodies of Covid-19 victims pile up in Chhattisgarh, health minister reacts

Chhattisgarh reported 13,576 Covid-19 cases and 107 deaths on Monday, according to officials. They also said that Chhattisgarh recorded 668 deaths in the last one week after 132 Covid-19 patients succumbed on Monday.

Chhattisgarh’s health minister TS Singh Deo said on Tuesday the situation in the state is "very concerning" and the sudden rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths has posed a challenge for authorities. Authorities in Raipur and Durg districts, which are the worst-hit areas by the coronavirus pandemic, have been struggling with the rising Covid-19 cases and related deaths. Bodies of Covid-19 victims have been piling up in mortuaries and crematoriums in Raipur and the situation was worrying in neighbouring Durg, reports said. Videos being circulated on social media show bodies on stretchers outside the mortuary of Raipur's Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, the state's biggest state-run institute.

Data shows that since April 1, 861 people have died due to Covid-19 in Chhattisgarh, with Raipur reporting 305 fatalities and Durg 213. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Raipur and Durg districts witnessed 3,442 and 1,591 new Covid-19 cases, respectively, on Monday, taking their caseload to 94,753 and 56,986 respectively. In Raipur, 1261 people have succumbed to the coronavirus disease and Durg's death till stands at 953. Data shows that since April 1, 861 people have died due to Covid-19 in Chhattisgarh, with Raipur reporting 305 fatalities and Durg 213.

“The health department's responsibility is to look after the patients. We can't make other arrangements. I spoke with the district administration about it. More arrangements have been made to keep dead bodies,” TS Singh Deo was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. "The district administration and the municipal corporation have been asked to ensure the bodies are cremated at the earliest," he also said, according to news agency PTI on Tuesday.

Chhattisgarh’s health minister said there is generally no delay in the cremation of bodies of Covid-19 victims belonging to Raipur. But last rites for those from other districts, who die in hospitals in the city, take time as officials have to make arrangement for their bodies to be taken to their respective places, he added.

PTI cited Raipur's additional municipal commissioner Pulak Bhattacharya as saying that patients with various ailments, including the coronavirus disease, were being treated in the DBRMAH. The bodies of non-Covid patients and those related to medico-legal cases were also kept in the hospital's mortuary, he added. The bodies of victims from other districts are also kept in the Raipur hospital's mortuary before being shifted to their native places, he also said. "Due to a sudden spike in deaths due to Covid-19, the bodies piled up in the mortuary," Bhattacharya said.

Bhattacharya said the hospital's morgue had 40 bodies, mostly of Covid-19 victims, which was more than its capacity, on Monday. "Since the last two days, the last rites of nearly 100 victims were being performed per day in Raipur. We have pressed more hearses into service so that the bodies can be shifted to crematoriums without any delay," he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) including former chief minister Raman Singh will meet Chhattisgarh Governor Anusuiya Uikey on Tuesday over the alarming rise in Covid-19 cases sin the state. Chhattisgarh reported 13,576 Covid-19 cases and 107 deaths on Monday, according to officials. Officials also said that Chhattisgarh recorded 668 deaths in the last one week after 132 Covid-19 patients succumbed on Monday