NEW DELHI: A shocking video showing dogs eating bodies of suspected COVID-19 victims on a riverbank at Kedar Ghat in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi has gone viral on social media.
Local residents, who had complained to the district authorities to make arrangements for proper disposal of these bodies, said that the bodies had possibly been dumped upstream into the river, a tributary of the Ganga.
They supposedly got stuck in the sand and were later drifted towards the banks after heavy rainfall in the past few days raised the water level. Street dogs, apparently attracted by the stench, pulled the bodies out of the water and were now feeding on them.
Expressing anger, the local residents claimed that the civic body took no action despite complaints.
Ramesh Semwal, chairman of the Nagar Palika, said, “Some half-burnt bodies were seen on the ghat being eaten by dogs. We have assigned a sadhu who lives on the ghat to keep cleaning the area after last rites are performed.”
Uttarakhand | Residents claim that dogs are eating half-burnt COVID bodies at Kedar Ghat, Uttarkashi.
After receiving complaints from locals, we have assigned a person at Kedar Ghat for cremation of half-burnt bodies: Municipality president Ramesh Semwal pic.twitter.com/9IvC9ysC6O
— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2021
Recently, hundreds of bodies of COVID victims were spotted floating down rivers in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It is believed that they were apparently dumped by their relatives amid the pandemic due to fear, shortage of cremation space, firewood, and spiraling funeral costs.
Many families are burying their dead in the sand on riverbanks. Recently several dozen bodies were spotted floating in the Ganga in Unnao and Fatehpur districts in Uttar Pradesh, triggering concerns over the spread of the deadly coronavirus virus in the areas.
