The last rites of a Covid-19 patient, the first casualty in Hazaribagh from the deadly virus, was performed on Thursday night on the banks of Konar river in the district.
The deceased, a resident of Ichak block, was a taxi driver in Mumbai and had returned to the district on June 14 following which he was admitted to Hazaribagh Medical College and Hospital (HMCH). He breathed his last on Wednesday.
The Khirgaon muktidham committee did not permit the last rites to be performed in the area, social worker and in-charge of the HMCH morgue Mohammad Khalid informed the district administration. Khalid, along with his team members, then took the body to Konar river after proper arrangements were made for the last rites. The team was provided with PPE kits to perform the last rites, as per health ministry guidelines.
Khalid told The Telegraph Online that they arrived at the Konar river at 10pm and performed the last rites, which took about one and a half hours. He said the objection from muktidham came as the area is situated in midst of densely-populated mohallas.
President of Khirgaon Muktidham committee Manoj Gupta cited the same reason for the objection. He said the area where the crematorium is situated is surrounded by densely-populated mohallas, adding that even a popular Shamshan Kali mandir is also located in the vicinity.
“There was a huge risk involved and so we suggested Konar bank as the ideal place for the last rites,” he said.
Following protocols, the health department has sent the 17 relatives of the deceased into quarantine, including his two sons, a daughter, wife, parents and all those who came in contact with him.
Meanwhile, the land registry office situated in the campus of district collectorate has received a hand sensor-enabled sainitiser machine from Bank of Baroda. Registrar Vaibhav Mani Tripathi expressed his gratitude to the bank officials and said a large number of people come to the office every day.
“Now for their safety, this machine has been installed at the gate of the office so that they can sainitise their hands by using this sensor-enabled machine,” he said.
