Info not available on number of bodies dumped in Ganga during Covid-19: Centre

Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu stated that the National Mission for Clean Ganga sought from the concerned state governments a report on the bodies found floating in the river.

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday (February 7, 2022) stated that the information is not available on the number of bodies estimated to have been dumped in the river Ganga during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu stated that the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) sought from the concerned state governments a report on the bodies found floating in the river and the action taken or contemplated for ensuring proper handling, management and disposal of bodies for ensuring the protection of Ganga.

"The information regarding the number of COVID-19-related bodies estimated to have been dumped in the river Ganga is not available," he said.

It is noteworthy that there were several media reports which claimed that 'unidentified, burnt or partially burnt' dead bodies were found floating in the river or on grounds, in the shallow depth, on the banks of the river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. 

The Minister informed that advisories were also issued to Chief Secretaries of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal and all District Ganga Committees to ensure proper handling, management and disposal of dead bodies by the State authorities following Covid-19 protocol and ensuring the protection of the river Ganga.