Ludhiana: COVID-19 has sparked such fear among people that they are even hesitant to perform cremations of their loved ones. Bodies of COVID victims waiting to be laid to rest is a common headline in newspapers these days.
With many people losing the battle to COVID, it also becomes emotionally challenging for their family members to give them a dignified farewell amid a huge space crunch in crematoriums.
Amid the state of hopelessness and anguish, some good samaritans have come forward to do their bit to help families who lose their loved ones.
The unsung COVID warrior, known as the Sanskar team traffic marshals (Punjab Police volunteers) in Ludhiana is one of them. The team has performed over 1,000 cremations of COVID patients since the pandemic broke out in India.
The head of the team Mandeep Keshav Guddu informed ETV Bharat that they have performed more than 1,000 cremations till date.
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He said, "Corona doesn't see whether the person is a doctor, lawyer, policeman or a journalist. My team has cremated around 600 bodies of COVID victims whose families refused to perform last rites for them. In the past three months, we have performed 600 cremations and it is devastating to see the families losing their loved ones to COVID. I request people to follow COVID guidelines and adhere to COVID appropriate behaviour."
He says it heartbreaking to see three to four people from the same family succumbing to the virus.
Mandeep said that his cremation team is not receiving any help from the administration.
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"The Mayor helped us and provided us with money for petrol and diesel. We have been working from the first day ever since the pandemic wreaked havoc and families refused to perform cremations. We follow all the rituals while performing the cremation," he added.
Asking as to what prompted him to take this noble initiative, he said, "I have experienced the suffering. I was struck by the deadly virus last year, after the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. I have come under the attack of the virus several times and have isolated myself at home after getting symptoms. I followed the instructions from the doctor and adhered to COVID norms."
Mandeep informed that one of his team members is suffering from severe lung ailments and is unable to work with them.
"The second wave of pandemic is deadly and we have performed more cremations this time against the first wave. We have cremated the family members of senior officers, lawyers, police personnel, journalists and doctors," he added.
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