Kalyan crematorium caretaker turns Covid warrior

The caretaker of Lal Chowki crematorium in Kalyan has cremated more than 350 Covid patients since March 2020, sometimes working continuously for more than 24 hours and going on for days without meeting his family or celebrating birthdays with them

Thirty-year-old Amol Dabhade has emerged as a true Covid warrior and an unsung hero during the pandemic.

Amol Dabhade in his PPE kit at the Lal Chowki crematorium in Kalyan. (Rishikesh Choudhary/HT photo)

The caretaker of Lal Chowki crematorium in Kalyan has cremated more than 350 Covid patients since March 2020, sometimes working continuously for more than 24 hours and going on for days without meeting his family or celebrating birthdays with them. But Dabhade has no regrets.

A resident of Adharwadi in Kalyan, Dabhade stays with his 55-year-old mother and 26-year-old wife. He said, “I have been working in the crematorium for many years. Earlier, there were merely four to five people to be cremated in a day. I stayed nearby, the money I earned was enough for the three of us and I could spend enough time with my mother and wife. However, things changed after March when the pandemic set in. The body count started increasing and so would the despair and helplessness of the people who came here.”

Dabhade remembered the days when he had to cremate 15 to 19 persons in a day. “My family used to worry about my health but I have always been careful with all the safety precautions. Initially, I was worried too looking at the death. However, one day a man came to cremate his 30-year-old son, a Covid warrior. He was also the sole breadwinner of the family. The son died of Covid and the father told me he was very proud of his son who worked for people during the pandemic. This inspired me and I told my family not to worry about me, I will also do my bit for the society. I believe God has given me this opportunity through my work and he will give me strength too.”

Dabhade said that he never said no to any family who came to the crematorium at any time of the day. “I had to cremate 19 bodies back-to-back. Each body took more than 40 minutes, after which I took one-and-a-half hours to clean the machine. Otherwise, it would get stuck leading to a long queue. I used to reach home late after my family was asleep or sometimes after two days. My wife and I did not even meet on our birthdays. The appreciation from people was my gift for this year.”

The KDMC had allowed cremation of Covid patients at six of its crematoriums. A KDMC official said, “A total 980 deaths has been reported in the KDMC jurisdiction over nine months, and this crematorium alone has burnt more than 350 bodies so far.”