In Pictures: Delhi's Crematoriums Are Struggling, As COVID-19 Death Toll Mounts In The City

Due to the coronavirus pandemic dead bodies are piled up in India's morgues, and graveyards and crematoriums are overwhelmed. Like elsewhere in the world, the virus has made honoring the dead in New Delhi a hurried affair, largely devoid of the rituals that give it meaning for mourners.

People in personal protective suits carry out the body of their relative who died of COVID-19, for cremation in New Delhi.

The Nigambodh Ghat has been working overtime since the Indian capital became a pandemic hotspot.

Mourners in personal protective gear offer prayers at a cemetery in New Delhi, before the burial of their relative who died of COVID-19.

The rising number of bodies arriving from hospitals has forced the facility, situated next to the city's historic Red Fort, to extend its opening hours. Funerals start at 8:00 am and go on late into the night.

“In the beginning, I used to carry only one body. Now, helpers at the morgue will stack as many bodies as they can fit in my van,” said Bhijendra Dhigya, who drives a hearse from one New Delhi hospital to the crematorium.