There was chaos around Bada Ghagra Road on the outskirts of he state capital for hours on Monday as over 40 ambulances blocked the lane from noon till evening to protest against poor arrangements and the lack of a comprehensive plan by the district administration to ensure respectable last rites for those who had died of Covid-19.

Around noon, over 40 ambulances carrying dead bodies stood in queue since morning hoping for resumption of cremation. But sources said that due to unavailability of wood and staff, funeral pyres could not be lit. Frustrated at the situation, ambulance drivers then blocked the entire road from both ends till 5pm until officials arrived and promised to make arrangements.

Last week, the district administration had earmarked Bada Ghagra as alternative cremation site for Covid patients after the electric crematorium at Harmu Muktidham stopped functioning owing to a technical snag. Since then, around 25 bodies are cremated at Bada Ghagra using funeral pyres set up with wood.

Ambulance drivers use bamboo poles to block Bada Ghagra Road. Manob Chowdhary

However, since Monday morning, cremation got stopped owing to lack of wood and other paraphernalia, inconveniencing not just those who had lost their loved ones, but also ambulance drivers who were forced to keep bodies in vehicles.

“Cremation activities have begun now. Staff was missing and hence there was no one to issue challans and complete paper work. Also, there was a shortage of wood, oil and other items. We are trying our best to sort out the issues,” said an official of Namkum police station, who was there at the site.

Ambulance driver Md Salim accused the district administration and Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) of having completely failed in their job. “Even the dead aren’t getting proper treatment in this state, forget about medical treatment of the sick. Every day, we have to wait for hours with bodies. Considering the rate of fatalities, why can’t the administration make proper arrangements,” he asked.

Another driver, Kalimuddin, said there was body in his vehicle since midnight. “The electric crematorium at Hamu Muktidham went defunct on Sunday after working fine for two days after repairs. Here, people have to wait for 7-8 hours to get to the cremation ground. I couldn’t sit in my ambulance s it began stinking,” he said.

Neither Ranchi deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan nor SDO Utkarsh Gupta responded to calls from The Telegraph Online.