COVID took their lives; State robbed them of dignity in death [gut-wrenching tales]

For the past one month social media has been pulled over and given a ringside view of India's unfolding Covid-19 crises.

With Twitter still burning with chilling videos of endless funeral pyres in Lucknow, volunteers digging graves in advance because they know many are coming soon and the Ghaziabad administration making arrangements for final rites on pavements, there is no scope even for burying head in the sand.

Whether it's a collective administrative failure or something we cannot control, many of India's COVID-19 victims were robbed of a dignified send-off. As humankind struggles to cope with reeling losses, which are rising by the minute, here's facing death and destruction. Lest we forget, move on and unlearn the lessons.

Bodies of COVID victims got mixed up

No state has been spared the overwhelming number of deaths due to Coronavirus. Earlier this month, the bodies of two women who died due to Covid in Bhopal got mixed up. By the time, the tragic error came to light, the Muslim woman had already been cremated as per Hindu rituals.

The bodies got swapped at Hamidia Hospital while being handed over to their families. The hospital authorities claim that the family members of one of the women didn't check the name tag properly while identifying and claiming the body.

Bodies were not sent home

The dead bodies not being given the customary final baths and send-offs do not come as a shocker to many anymore. One Makena Powella opened up about waiting for five hours at Ellisbridge crematorium in Ahmedabad to be able to conduct her uncle's funeral.

As if losing her loved one to Covid-19 and not being allowed to take the dead body home for final prayers was not enough, the family had to allegedly accept the dead being written off as 'death due to illness' and not Covid-19.

When the kin refused to touch the bodies

It's not always the state but sometimes families too need to walk back home with guilt, blame themselves and feel guilty. In another incident, it was really heartbreaking. Bhopal's Muslim men Danish Siddiqui and Saddam Qurashi have been selflessly performing the last rites of Hindu Covid-19 victims as per the Hindu rituals since their own kin refused to touch them for fear of getting infected. The duo cremated more than 60 bodies so far. 

 The video that should be enough to shake our souls

There are official numbers quoted of those deaths due to COVID-19 and then there are real death numbers. The realistic estimate of casualties was calculated on the basis of how many lines of wood pyres are lighted up every hour. In some states, it has become impossible to manually dig graves for the dead. Last week, in Gujarat reportedly JCBs were being used to dig graves of those dying due to Covid.

Images that speak a thousand unsaid words

In what can be called nothing less than heart-wrenching, a viral video showed a body from Sir Sunder Lal hospital in BHU, Varanasi that was being ferried to a cremation ghat in auto-rickshaws. The deaths have also resulted in a severe shortage of ambulances to carry the dead.

In Chhattisgarh, PPE-clad health care workers can be seen lifting and shifting the dead bodies of Covid victims to the back of the garbage trucks, to ferry them to cremation grounds.

These are tough times. Please double mask-up and get vaccinated. Stay safe, India.