Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, April 14
As the Corona casualties are mounting, relatives and friends taking bodies for cremation at Patna Municipal Corporation-run crematorium at Bans Ghat on the banks of Ganga have alleged municipal staff were engaged in extortion from them.
On an average 30 to 40 bodies are being brought to Bansh Ghat crematorium from Patna Medical College Hospital, Nalanda Medical College hospitals and AIIMS. Due to rush of the bodies, the staff are asking the relatives to wait for the turn of their Corona dead. Out of two electric cremation machines, only one is functional and this has made the waiting long.
Today, some of the relatives alleged they had to pay as high as Rs 12000 to Rs 16000 for cremation against the fixed charge of Rs 300. However, the municipal staff claimed money was being taken to arrange materials for cremation. Government today opened another crematorium at Gulbi Ghat on eastern Patna for cremation of the Corona dead.
Health Minister, Mangal Pandey who took cognizance of extortion for cremation at Bans Ghat said he has asked the district magistrate of Patna to probe and prevent loot for last rites.
Meanwhile, Corona has affected all wings of the state-judiciary, executive and legislature. Chief Justice of Patna High Court and his wife are admitted in AIIMS, four other judges too are Corona positive. Food minister Madan Sahany has been declared a Corona positive patient. Over 50 members of the state legislature secretariats, both Assembly and Council are down with Corona. Two of the officers of the Legislative Council died yesterday. Entry to the legislature complex has been restricted. Vidhan Parishad has been closed.
A senior IAS officer, Vijay Ranjan, director of Panchayati Raj, too died of Corona here. Two other senior IAS officers in the rank of principal secretary were admitted in AIIMS here. Additional chief secretary (home) Chaitnaya Prasad and principal secretary of Industries, S Sidharth who were detected with Corona symptoms have been admitted in AIIMS. Doctors reported the condition of Prasad was serious.
As the number of beds is proving short at Nalanda Medical College Hospital, an ex-army man, Vijay Kumar Singh, who was brought from Lakhisarai,120 kms from here died unattended at the entrance of the hospital building. No medicare was provided to him, his family alleged. However, health minister, Mangal Pandey, claimed he had visited NMCH when the patient was brought and doctors told him he was brought dead. Government has advised hospital management to increase the number of beds for Corona patients.
A young inspector of CID, Rakesh Kumar died in NMCH today.
Vice Chancellor of Patna University, S K Chaudhury, two senior professors of Science College and Magadh Mahila College are also admitted in hospitals as they too infected Corona.
In the last 24 hours,4157 new cases have been found.In Patna,475 people have died in Corona in the last three days. There are 171 containment zones in the state capital.
Patna Airport has also restricted entry of passengers and decided to allow only those who had tested Negative in RT PCR tests in the last three days. District administration has opened a control room at Airport to screen the patients coming from Maharashtra ,Punjab and New Delhi for Corona and only those found negative would be allowed to leave the airport, others would be sent to government recognised quarantine centres.
