New Delhi: With a sharp rise in deaths due to the latest surge in COVID-19, graveyards in the national capital Delhi are struggling to manage resources.
According to an official figure on confirmed and suspected cases, the virus has killed 409 people in Delhi in the first 13 days of April, while it had claimed 117 lives in the entire month of March and 57 in February.
Graveyards in Delhi struggle to keep up as Covid deaths rise This substantial rise in the fatality rate has led to a rush of bodies at Delhi's graveyards.
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At a local graveyard in the Delhi Gate area of the capital city which earlier used to receive 7 to 8 bodies daily, the number has gone up multiple times since the second wave of the pandemic.
According to the Jadeed Qabristan officials, in the last few weeks, at least 50 bodies are brought for burial daily.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, a man who came from Dilshad Garden for the burial of his uncle, said that he has been waiting for over 2 hours.
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"We have been here for more than 2 hours now and yet the burial has not taken place as there is a long queue here also," Muhtashim said.
He added, "In the last 2 hours that I have been here, more than 10 bodies have been buried. We have to wait for our turn. I am wearing a PPE kit and I feel very uncomfortable because of the hot weather. We have no option but to wait."
Delhi has been among the worst-hit cities by the second wave of COVID-19.
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With a spike in COVID-19 cases in the last few weeks, the national capital is facing a severe shortage of beds, oxygen cylinders, and medicines putting an additional burden on the already stretched health infrastructure in the city.
