Barely days after bodies of suspected Covid patients were found floating in the Ganga river in Ghazipur, Ballia and Buxar (Bihar), dozens of bodies were found buried near the Ganges in Unnao. These bodies had not been completely burnt before being buried in sand. Tragically, stray dogs were seen feeding on the remains. A team of Unnao police was now engaged in an inquiry and searches were being conducted for more bodies.
District Magistrate of Unnao Ravinder Kumar said that the bodies were found buried in an area far from the river, after which a team was deputed to search for more such bodies, if any, in adjoining areas and carry out an enquiry to unravel the truth. “Action will be taken after the team submits  its findings,” he said.
Besides Unnao, over half-a-dozen bodies were found floating in the Ganga river in Chandauli. Soon after learning of the recovery of bodies, Joint Magistrate in Chandauli Prem Prakash Meena rushed to the scene with a team of officers, fished out the bodies and arranged for burial. The official suspected that unable to bear the cost of cremation, poor people of the area immersed the bodies in the river as part of the last ritual.
Only a few days ago, several bodies of suspected Corona victims were found floating in Ganga river in Ghazipur, Ballia in UP and Chausa area of Buxar in Bihar. The recovery of bodies in Buxar also triggered a blame game between UP and Bihar with officials from both sides claiming that several bodies were a week old and had flown downstream. These incidents sparked fears about the scale of Covid crisis in the country. Officials of both states concurred that relatives of the deceased were probably unable to find space for the last rites or were not in a condition to bear the cost. More reports of floating bodies also came in from north Bihar district of Katihar. Villagers living nearby claimed that they had been complaining to the administration to remove the bodies but the requests fell on deaf ears.