People living near the banks of the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur once again witnessed the ghastly sight of dead bodies washing up on the ghats of the river on Saturday.
Similar scenes were witnessed on Tuesday in the same area, a day after bodies of suspected Covid patients washed up on banks of Ganga in Bihar’s Buxar district. Residents of Ghazipur, mortified over the incident, have expressed concerns over the spread of diseases and the stench coming from the bloated bodies.
“The sight was ghastly, corpses were floating from all directions and were getting stuck on the ghats. People were getting really terrified and the smell is getting worse,” said Akhand, a local.
“After looking at the condition of the bodies, it seemed like they have been floating for a while, maybe four to five days. It is possible that they came from the Chandoauli side,” he added.
Bodies were also found buried in the sand in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district on Thursday, near the river.
Incidents such as these have sparked fears about the scale of the Covid crisis in the country, especially in rural areas. Authorities believe the relatives of those who succumbed to the virus, may not have been able to find space for the last rites.