Lock-down impact: Ashes await immersion, funerary rituals shelved

Inability to perform after-death rituals for departed loved ones due to curbs has compounded the pain of many families during the lock-down to check spread of corona virus.

Inability to perform after-death rituals for departed loved ones due to curbs has compounded the pain of many families during the lock-down to check spread of corona virus. Urns containing ashes are piling up in crematoriums and Shantipath and 13th day rituals pending too.

More than 300 urns containing ashes are waiting for immersion in the lockers of Bhaisakund cremation ground and 50 urns at Alambagh and Gulalaghat crematorium are also waiting to be collected due to the ongoing lockdown.

Shantipath and terahnvis (13th day ritual) of more than 400 people are also pending.

In Hindu religion, the mortal remains of the dead are cremated and then the ashes are immersed into rivers, most preferably the Ganga. Pandit Ram Keval Tewari said,“ In Hinduism it is said a soul gets salvation only after immersion of ashes. But for the past 21 days, due to the lock-down the relatives of the dead are unable to move out with ashes to immerse them.” Due to travel restrictions they are not able to reach places like Haridwar, Varanasi and Kanpur etc for immersion.”

Pandit Kaushalendra Pandey of Bhaisakund Ghat said, “Usually shantipath and terahnvi are announced on the ghat but more than 400 people have postponed both the rituals and have planned them after lock-down opens.”

There have been more than 500 deaths after March 24 when lock-down started. “That’s why most of the people chose to keep the ashes in lockers instead of immersing them immediately,” said in charge of the Bhaisakund cremation ground Surya Vikram Singh.

He said, “Lockers are limited. We have around 84 lockers at Bhaisakund and 40 odd at Gulalaghat and Alambagh where the ashes are kept. But due to unprecedented circumstances people are not able to immerse them. As a result, now more than one urn is kept in a single locker. In some lockers, there are more than 5 urns. However, the ashes carry names of the dead with serial number so that they are not mixed up.”

Presently we have kept 12 lockers empty for VVIPs and VIPs said another official of LMC . While rest of them are occupied.

Municipal commissioner Indramani Tripathi said, “ These are difficult times , are we are fighting corona so we need cooperation from everyone.The LMC is trying to get more lockers and planning to double the number of lockers after lockdown.”