Ramping up facilities for a quick cremation of Covid-19 mortalities, the Karnataka government is worried about unclaimed ashes of the cremated bodies.
Sources in the state government revealed that ashes of about 1,000 cremated Covid-19 patients have still not been claimed by the family members. Alarmed by the piling up of ashes at the crematorium sites, the state government has decided to conduct post-death rituals of these unclaimed ashes and immerse them in water.
Acknowledging the problem Revenue minister R Ashoka said, "Several family members are not coming forward to take back the ashes of the Covid-19 bodies for immersion in rivers. We have been continuously trying to reach the family members. However, their phone numbers are either switched off or not reachable. A few of them are citing various difficulties in collecting the ashes. Hence, the government has decided to immerse the ashes as per the rituals."
Officials revealed that open-air crematoria on the outskirts of Bengaluru that witnessed the highest number of cremation of Covid-19 patients are facing this problem.