BMC makes U-turn on cremation order for coronavirus dead after minister intervenes

The BMC had earlier said burials for Covid-19 patients will not be allowed.

Barely hours after it issued a circular on Monday directing that all Covid-19 casualties in Mumbai will have to be cremated, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) withdrew it.

Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik took to Twitter to announce that the BMC has withdrawn the circular after he spoke to Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi.

 

The BMC had earlier said all Covid-19 casualties in Mumbai will have to be cremated to minimise possibilities of spreading the virus.

“All bodies of #COVID19 patients should be cremated irrespective of religion. Burial will not be allowed. The funeral should not involve more than 5 people,” Commissioner Pardeshi had said in the circular.

It also said that rituals of touching the body should be avoided.

Later, BMC commissioner Praveen Pardeshi’s was revised citing that if there is availability of a big burial site then burial can be permitted.

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Under the Epidemic Diseases Act, local authorities are empowered to decide on the steps, including disposal of bodies to curb the spread of disease.

The BMC also said that 47 more people tested positive for coronavirus in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) on Monday while the death toll rose to eight.

Among the over 200 people infected by the virus in Maharashtra, 25 are from a single family in Sangli district.

The number of coronavirus positive cases in India has soared to over 1000 while the death toll has risen to 29 so far as India battles to stop community transmission.