Digital Desk: On Monday, the Union government told the Rajya Sabha that it does not have information on the number of bodies recovered floating in the Ganga during the second wave of Covid-19 outbreak last year.
The Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu informed this in response to a question posed by TMC MP Derek O'Brien in the Rajya Sabha. The TMC MP wanted to know how many Covid-19-related bodies were allegedly put in the Ganga.
"The information regarding the number of Covid-19 related bodies estimated to have been dumped in the river Ganga is not available," Tudu said in a written statement.
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He went on to say that the media has recorded incidences of unclaimed/unidentified, charred or partially burnt dead remains floating in the river or on the ground, in shallow depth, on the Ganga's banks. These incidents were recorded in a number of districts across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
He went on to say that the ministry had requested reports from concerned state governments on the bodies found floating, as well as any actions done or planned by state authorities to ensure proper handling, management, and disposal of dead for the river Ganga's preservation.
He further added that advisories were sent to the chief secretaries of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Bengal.
The government's reaction was met with criticism from the Congress, with Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera describing the BJP-led government as "shameless." "This shamelesss government refuses to see what the rest of the world experienced with horror and sadness. We expected the Modi government to at the very least provide dignity to the victims following their deaths. Something you couldn't give when they were alive and fighting for survival," he explained.
During the months of May and June last year, when the second wave of Covid-19 was at its peak in the country, bodies floating down the river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar had made headlines all across the world. Hundreds of bodies were being washed along the banks of the river. The sight of bodies floating in the river had sparked a political row.
Union minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had termed the whole episode “unfortunate” and asked the states concerned to take immediate cognizance.
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