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Odia man buried after villagers boycott cremation over Covid-19 fears
Doctors said Sridhar Dalei died of a hepatic coma but villagers suspected that Coovid-19 took his life.
The family of a migrant worker from Odisha’s Balasore district who died on Sunday more than a month after returning from Kolkata, had to bury his body after villagers refused to help in his cremation over fears that he had died of Covid-19, officials said Monday.
Sridhar Dalei, a 45-year-old man of Khatanagar village under Simulia block of Balasore district working in Kolkata had returned home on March 30 soon after lockdown was announced. He did not develop any symptoms of Covid-19 after a 14-day home quarantine.
Three days ago, Dalei suddenly developed a cough and cold and did not get any relief despite trying home remedies. When his conditions worsened, he was taken to Balasore district headquarters hospital in an ambulance, but he died on the way. He was declared brought dead in Balasore district headquarters hospital where doctors said he suffered from a hepatic coma.
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However, after Dalei’s body was brought to Khatanagar village late Sunday night, none of the villagers came forward to help in cremation despite his wife’s pleas.
“The villagers probably feared that the man died of coronavirus as the person he travelled along from Kolkata had tested positive last month. However, I am sure the man died of hepatic coma and jaundice,” said Dr Bijay Panda, in-charge of Simulia community health centre.
As no villagers came forward to help in cremation, Dalei’s family members buried the body by themselves. The CHC in-charge said that since Dalei’s swab sample was not tested earlier, a medical camp will be organised on Tuesday where the swab samples of his family members and neighbours will be examined for coronavirus.
On April 27, a man in Bhubaneswar died allegedly after being denied treatment by several private hospitals over fears that he may have contracted coronavirus as he lived close to a containment zone. The man’s wife and daughter had to spend a night on the road with the body after their landlord refused to let them in their rented home.