To date, India has recorded more than 25 million cases and 275,000 deaths from Covid-19. However, many experts say the real number could be many times higher. On the riverbanks, many cremation pylons burned around the clock, many cremation sites had no space left. This phenomenon partly reflects the unprecedented number of deaths and has not been updated in official data. According to the BBC , behind the bodies floating in the river is a story of customs, poverty and a deadly pandemic. Many cremation pylons burn around the clock in India. Photo: Getty. Frighten The horrifying story in the state of Uttar Pradesh first came to light on May 10. The opening was the event of 71 bodies washed up on the riverbank in the village of Chausa in Bihar. Officials said some of the remains may have been leftover body parts that fell into the Ganges after cremations, but they suspect the bodies were dumped in the river. The police put a net across the water to prevent the same thing from happening. A day later, about 10 kilometers from Chausa, dogs and crows were seen swarming with dozens of decomposing bodies on the banks of a river in the village of Gahmar, in the Pradesh Ghazipur region of Uttar state. Locals said the body had been washed up on the embankment for several days. However, the authorities ignored their complaints about the stench until news of the corpses found downstream of Bihar made the news. Dozens of bodies swell and decompose, floating in the river. They were discovered by people when they went for a morning dip in India’s holiest river. Sheet Hindustan Police reported that 62 bodies had been recovered. Meanwhile, in Kannauj, Kanpur, Unnao and Prayagraj, the riverbanks are dotted with shallow graves. Shallow graves by the Ganges River. Photo: Getty. Videos sent to BBC from the banks of the Mehndi ghat in Kannauj shows a series of mounds in the shape of human corpses. Each of these mounds contained a body. At the nearby Mahadevi ghat, at least 50 bodies were found. Crematorium is overloaded Traditionally, Hindus will cremate the dead. However, many communities have a practice known as “Jal Pravah” – the practice of floating the bodies of children, unmarried women, or those who have died of an infectious disease or been bitten by a snake. Many poor people do not have money to cremate their loved ones, so they also wrap their bodies in white cotton cloth and drop them into the water. Sometimes bodies are tied to rocks to ensure they will sink to the bottom of the river, but many bodies are floated without the stones tied. In the time before the pandemic, corpses floating in the Ganges were not an uncommon sight. However, the number of bodies in the river is too much in recent times, still surprising many people. A journalist in Kanpur said the number of bodies in the river was proof of the “big disparity between the official death toll and the actual death toll related to Covid-19” in India. He said that from April 16 to May 5, the official reported number was 196 deaths in Kanpur, but data from seven crematoriums showed there were nearly 8,000 cremations. “All electric crematoriums are open 24/7 in April. Even so, there are still not enough furnaces to cremate bodies, so the government has allowed the use of wood on the outside grounds for cremation,” he said. to speak. “However, crematoriums only accept confirmed Covid-19 bodies from the hospital, while a very large number of people who died at home have not been tested. Families of the dead bring the bodies of their loved ones out. on the outskirts of the city or to neighboring districts like Unnao. When they can’t find wood or a place to cremate, they drop the bodies on the riverbed.” Cremation platforms along the riverside. Photo: Getty. Another journalist in Prayagraj also believes that many of the bodies in the river are those of Covid-19 patients who died at home without being tested, or poor people who can’t afford cremation. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “These people are someone’s son, daughter, brother, sister, father or mother. They deserve to be respected when they die. But their deaths are not even recorded – no one knows they died or is known. How to be buried? Burial from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m The discovery of graves and decomposing bodies, along with fears that the bodies could have contracted Covid-19 have sparked panic in villages along the river. Originating in the Himalayas, the Ganges is one of the largest rivers in the world. Hindus consider this river a sacred river, they believe that bathing in the Ganges will wash away sins and use this river water for religious ceremonies. In Kannauj, Jagmohan Tiwari, a 63-year-old resident, reported seeing “150-200 shallow graves” by the river. “The burial took place from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.,” he said. The discovery of the graves caused panic in the area. People worry that bodies buried on the ground will start to float in the river when it rains and the water level rises. On May 12, the state government banned the practice of “Jal Pravah” and provided support for poor families who could not afford cremation. Relatives of a victim stand near the riverbank while the body is cremated. Photo: Getty. In many places, the police used sticks to retrieve the body from the river and called on the boatman to bring the body to the shore. After being retrieved, the decomposed bodies are buried in pits or burned on a cremation pyre. Ghazipur district judge Mangala Prasad Singh said teams had been set up, patrolling the riverbanks and cremation grounds to prevent people from dumping bodies in rivers or burying them on the banks. Bringing the ashes of unclaimed Covid-19 victims to the Ganges River Indian volunteers collect ashes from crematoriums to organize funerals for Covid-19 victims in Haridwar city.

New York Times sent reporters to cremations across India and found that the number of deaths caused by Covid-19 was higher than official figures. According to experts, Indian politicians and health officials missed many cases, both unintentional and intentional. The victim’s family also contributes to conceal the disease status of the deceased, making the situation even more complicated. “This is a data disaster,” says epidemiologist Bhramar Mukherjee from the University of Michigan. “From all modeling calculations done, we believe that the actual number of deaths is 2 to 5 times higher than reported”. The actual situation of the cremation ground In a cremation ground in the city of Ahmedabad, capital of the state of Gujarat, western India, fire was lit night and day to serve the cremation of the dead. Mr. Suresh Bhai, an employee here, said he had never seen so many deaths. However, in the section of cause of death on the file, he did not enter Covid-19. “Oops, sick, sick, sick …”, Mr. Suresh said. “That’s what we write.” Indian people pray after the death of a loved one caused by Covid-19. Photo: The New York Times. Mr. Suresh said that this order was issued by his superiors. These people declined to comment on the incident. Cremation is an important part of Hindu farewell rituals. This is considered an act to help the soul be released from the body. The staff at the cremation site said they felt exhausted. These employees also shared that they have never seen so many deaths at the same time today. In the industrial city of Surat, Gujarat state, some of the iron frames used for cremation have melted due to overuse. In the city of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh state, the authorities had to make use of the park to cremate the body. The price of subjectivity Not long ago, India seemed to be on the right track in the prevention of the Covid-19 pandemic, when cases and deaths were under control. Facing this achievement, both Indian officials and people proved subjective and did not continue to take measures to prevent epidemics. But the worst has only just begun. The number of more than 300,000 new infections a day exceeds the capacity of the Indian health sector. The beds are seriously overloaded. A hospital bed with dozens of people lined up for use. There was a time when hospitals in the capital New Delhi only had enough oxygen for a few hours. Cremation of the dead in India. Photo: The New York TImes. Countless Indians are on social media pleading for beds, medicine and oxygen to breathe. The cremations were red and red regardless of day and night. There were times when dozens of bodies were cremated at once. Meanwhile, India’s vaccination campaign is having problems. Only 10% of people in this country get at least one vaccine, even though India is the leading manufacturer of vaccines in the world. According to the Washington Post , the rate of people who have had two injections in India is only 1.4%. Medical experts believe that part of the cause comes from the mutant virus strain B.1.617. This is called a “double mutation” strain, which carries the mutation of two other mutant viruses. This makes B.1.617 both more contagious and more difficult to control than conventional viruses. “Cremation sites have never been so crowded” Residents of Bhopal city, Madhya Pradesh state, say cremations have never been so crowded. Bhopal officials recorded 41 deaths related to the Covid-19 outbreak in mid-April 13 days. New York Times At the city’s crematorium and cemetery for victims of Covid-19, the death toll amounted to more than 1,000 during that same period. “Many deaths have not been recorded. This number is increasing, ”said Dr. GCGautam, a cardiologist in Bhopal. According to him, the government did so because it did not want to create a wave of panic among the people. A similar situation was observed in Lucknow and Mirzapur, the main cities of Uttar Pradesh state. In the state of Gujarat, the local Sandesh newspaper pointed out that the number of deaths per day is about 610, many times higher than the 73-121 number announced by the government. The rapid increase in the number of deaths caused the cremation grounds to become crowded. Photo: The New York TImes. There are many reasons leading to this situation. Subjectively, according to epidemiologist Bhramar Mukherjee from the University of Michigan, some families do not want to have to bury their loved ones with the strict process of handling the bodies of Covid-19 patients. Objectively, some states are said to have received requests from the central government, where they have to slightly reduce the numbers from reality. In addition, even in the pre-pandemic years, only about a fifth of deaths have been forensically examined. This means that the cause of death of the majority of Indians is not recorded in official records. For his part, Mr. Suresh Bhai continued to work diligently. “Every day, my cemetery has to deal with 15-20 patients of Covid-19 who have died,” he said amid the flare of the flames. India ‘broke the game’ in the second wave of Covid-19 India is being devastated by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. In just 24 hours, the number of deaths due to the country’s pandemic reached 2,000 people and more than 300,000 new cases.