Bihar: Authorities to submit report to court on bodies found in rivers

Bihar's Buxar is in the headlines ever since scores of bodies were seen floating in river Ganges along the district. The state administration swung into action after Patna High Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter and sought a report on Wednesday.

Buxar:Bihar's Buxar is in the headlines ever since scores of bodies were seen floating in river Ganges along the district. The state administration swung into action after Patna High Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter and sought a report on Wednesday.

This comes after the court observed that the reports submitted by Bihar Chief Secretary and Divisional Commissioner provide different Covid death tolls in the same time period.

Earlier, Bihar Chief Secretary had reported the deaths of six people due to Covid in Buxar between March 1 to May 13 but the Divisional Commissioner report stated that nearly 789 bodies were cremated at Charitravan ghat.

Read:|Border dispute between officials over burial site at Buxar Ghat in Unnao

The administration has been asked to collect data from hospitals, crematoriums, mortuaries and the city council to compile a detailed report.

Even the data on the deaths due to Covid has also been removed from the health bulletin issued by the district administration and officials are refraining from making statements over the issue till the report is submitted to the court.

On May 10, Mahadev Ghat on the banks of Ganges in the Buxar district of Bihar was the site where around 40 to 50 bodies were seen floating.

Bodies were also spotted at Ghazipur, Gahmar, Bare and Ballia districts in Uttar Pradesh.

Both the states played a blame game over the issue which is yet to be resolved.

Chausa Block Development Officer Ashok Kumar Tiwari had claimed that 50 bodies were seen floating at Mahadev Ghat while over 400 were seen floating in the river at multiple areas of Uttar Pradesh.

Following the statement, District Magistrate held a presser and informed that around 30 bodies were found under Buxar border limits and within 24 hours the district administration stated that post mortem of 71 bodies was conducted which eventually raised a question on the management of the bodies of Covid patients.

Read:|Panic after bodies found buried in sand in UP's Unnao

Authorities have sealed the Ganges river on the Buxar border by putting a huge net so that bodies could be collected at one spot and get cremated properly.

This will also help in ascertaining the exact location of where the bodies were sent from.

Meanwhile, in a conversation with ETV Bharat, Buxar city council employee Shashi Mishra informed that the cremation sites are under pressure as the number of deaths has increased three times amid the Covid pandemic.

Read:|Scores of dead bodies float in Ganges near Buxar