COVID Effect - Gujarat Crematoriums Overflow With Dead, Gas Furnace Grills Melt In Surat

All pyres at crematoriums in four major cities of Gujarat — Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Rajkot — are constantly burning with more bodies waiting in line, as per TOI. The situation is such that crematoriums are expanding their boundaries to accommodate the bodies, though the state government said only 49 Covid deaths were recorded on April 10, taking the tally to 4746.?

The last time 49 people died due to COVID in one day was on May 5, 2020.

In Surat, before the pandemic, Ramnath Ghela Crematorium (RGC), Umra, and Kurukshetra Crematorium (KC), Jahangirpura, used to receive 20 bodies on average daily, but for the past two weeks, they have been receiving around 80 bodies. Ashwini Kumar Crematorium (AKC), Surat’s biggest one, used to attend to more than 30 bodies, but now it has been cremating 110 bodies on average daily. AKC has nine gas furnaces in working condition and four stands for the wooden pyre.?

Meanwhile, chief minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday denied reports that the state government was hiding the true Covid death data. “As per the guidelines of the ICMR, if a comorbid patient dies, then a committee of experts decides the primary and secondary causes of death. If that committee identifies the main cause of the death as heart attack, then even though the patient was infected with coronavirus, such death is not counted as Covid death. The same system is followed in the entire country,” he said in Ahmedabad.?

TOI

This may explain how more ‘Covid-19 dead’ bodies are reaching crematoriums through Covid-protocol but may not be labelled as Covid-19 deaths.?

Meanwhile, viral videos of bodies waiting in queue at AKC put the government under pressure to make alternative arrangements to reduce scrutiny. An adjoining ground of RGC has turned into a crematorium and Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) teams on Saturday afternoon set up light poles and other infrastructure for emergency use there.?

“Those dying natural deaths are being cremated on a wooden pyre. Light poles are being installed so that cremation can continue even at night,” said an SMC employee at the spot.?

A similar facility is also being created at Jahangirpura, where the authorities have set up new stands for wooden pyre on the bank of river Tapi.?

In Rajkot too, deaths continue in double digits across hospitals. However, according to the district collector’s office, of the 89 people who died during Covid treatment between April 6 and 8, only 14 succumbed to the coronavirus, though all the dead were cremated as per Covid protocol.?

Trustees of the biggest crematorium of Rajkot — Ramnathpara crematorium — maintain that they are cremating 20 bodies as per Covid protocol daily.?

In Ahmedabad, an estimated two dozen bodies were cremated at Vadaj, Dudheshwar and Thaltej crematoriums as per Covid protocol on Saturday, though only 16 deaths due to coronavirus were reported in the district.

While the state government’s health bulletin on Friday stated that there were six deaths in Vadodara, the bulletin issued locally by Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) mentioned only two.

The heavy rush of bodies at Surat crematoriums over the last two weeks has taken a toll on its ‘modern’ infrastructure. City crematoriums equipped with gas furnaces are being used for cremation round the clock. As a result, the iron frames on which the bodies are placed inside the gas furnace has started melting at all crematoriums.?

Gas furnaces at all three crematoriums of Diamond City are facing the melting issue. A similar issue has also come up in neighbouring Bardoli town.?

Along with the melting of frames, the burners also require frequent maintenance as they are being used round the clock. “Earlier we used to cremate 20 bodies in a day of which few were cremated on a wood pyre while others were cremated in gas furnaces. The load was limited and each furnace got enough time to cool down. But now, we are handling over 80 bodies daily and each furnace is in use round the clock. Hence the iron frames have started melting and breaking,” said an official at Ramnath Ghela Crematorium (RGC).?

At Ashwini Kumar Crematorium (AKC) too currently two furnaces are not working. “The frames are melting and gas burners get clogged. As the furnaces are in constant use, we are facing this difficulty,” said an official at AKC.?

Kurukshetra Crematorium (KC) has employed a team of technicians for frequent maintenance of the gas furnaces. “We have employed a team which is available round the clock to repair the furnace. Due to 24 hours use the furnaces break down many times,” said an official at KC.?

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