For Sudhir Yadav, this lockdown would leave behind a memory that he never wanted.

The 30-year-old Hazaribagh resident, who works in a private company in Mumbai, lost his father on Thursday, but couldn’t perform his last rites because of the lockdown.

Sudhir, the only child of his parents, was informed about his father’s deteriorating health a few days back, but couldn’t manage to come back to his home at Mangarpatta village in Bedam panchayat of Tatijharia block, around 30km from Hazaribagh town.

On Thursday, an inconsolable Sudhir saw his father for the last time through video call.

One of his relatives said Sudhir’s father Tulsi Yadav, 62, was suffering from several age-related ailments.

“When his condition deteriorated all of a sudden, we informed his only son and asked him to come back from Mumbai as soon as possible. But he said it was impossible for him to come because of the lockdown,” the relative said.

On Thursday, Tulsi’s last rites were conducted by Sudhir’s uncle Mathura.

“Sudhir was very close to his father. He kept video calling us to see his father for the last time. He was crying inconsolably. He tried his best to come back, but failed to obtain permission from the local authorities in Mumbai,” Mathura said.

Sudhir said he would never forget this lockdown.

“It snatched a son’s right to perform the last rites of his father. What can be more unfortunate than this?” he said.

The nationwide lockdown had also prevented Subhas Mali, who used to work as a labourer in Calcutta, failed to come back to his village in Jordag, nearly 400km away, to meet his eighty-year-old mother who died on April 4.

Rotary Club help

Rotary Club in association with Dhanbad police on Saturday launched a sanitisation drive under which public places would be sprayed with disinfectants.

Dhanbad senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kishor Kaushal launched the drive at police lines.

The club has purchased a large blower and two large 1,000-litre capacity sprayers for the drive that are being conducted by 12 of its members.

Club chairman Manas Prasoon said the club was preparing the sanitisers by mixing ingredients such as sodium hypochlorite, propyl alcohol and water.