Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, May 12
More bodies continued to float in the Ganga river in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh districts even on Wednesday posing a serious challenge for the authorities to tackle the situation.
The affected districts include Balia and Ghazipur in UP, and Buxar and Chapra in Bihar. On Wednesday, till 1 pm, about 250 bodies were buried in three districts of Balia and Ghazipur in UP and Buxar.
Bodies were seen floating in the Ganga and Saryu rivers on Bihar-UP borders. The investigations by police revealed many bodies with PPE kits were thrown in the rivers by drivers of hearses from the river bridges too taking advantage of lockdown restrictions.
District Magistrate of Buxar, Aman Sameer said he had talked to the DMs of Chapra and Balia and requested them to ensure bodies were not thrown into the Ganga in their jurisdictions. He has instructed all circle officers, block development officers and officer-in-charge of police stations to ensure presence of guards at 16 vulnerable river banks on Ganga as bodies were being thrown into the river through these Ghats.
On Wednesday morning, villagers who went to the Ganga for a bath found four bodies wrapped in the giant net put by the Buxar administration. They were retrieved and last rites were performed on behalf of the civic authorities. Again, eight more bodies were found at Bees ka Dera, an island in the river opposite Chausa ghat in the noon hours. When the team of Buxar administration reached there, it was found, the bodies were lying in the river bed which is in adjoining Balia district of UP. Buxar DM informer his Balia counterpart.
Buxar administration last night put a giant net (maha jaal) between Ranighat to Ujiyarghat in Chausa blocks to check flow of dead bodies into the river.He issued an appeal to the friends and relatives of Corona victims not to throw bodies in to the river ,but contact the civic authorities who would ensure their decent funeral.
In Ghazipur district,79 bodies, in Buxar 75, in Balia 70 bodies were recovered from the Ganga till 1 pm on Wednesday and administrations in the three districts arranged their burial on the banks of the Ganga and more from Saran side.
Bihar’s DG of Police S K Singhal contacted his UP counterpart and informed him that the bodies were coming floating from UP part of the Ganga as six bodies were found at Rani Ghat in Buxar close to U P border. Between Ranighat and Ujiyarghat, the three kms distance in the Ganga bed, a giant net was put to prevent flow of bodies in the Ganga.
Buxar police today registered cases at Brahampur, Chausa and Simri police station against unknown persons for throwing bodies into the Ganga.
In Balia district, 45 bodies were found on the Ganga banks at Bharauli, nine at Ujiyar,8 at Govindpur today. In Ghazipur, 23 bodies were found floating on the banks at Gahmar, opposite Chausa in Bihar. At Dharampur, 50 bodies were washed to the shore.
DNA samples of the bodies were collected before their burial to establish their identity and swabs of a few bodies could be collected for Corona tests.
A night guard posted at Baran ghat admitted he had seen bodies being dumped into the river by some Mallahs (boatmen) in the last few days. Administration today deployed divers in the sensitive banks. Dozens of bodies might have been swept away into the river to other districts downstream, the boatmen told the three members of the official team.
