Families of Covid victims wait in queues for hours to bid final goodbyes

Picture used for representational purpose only

Bengaluru: On Sunday, a 16-year-old girl, a school student succumbed to Covid complications. At 2:30 pm on Monday at the Indian Christian Cemetery, Hosur road, her family waited beside her ambulance.

They waited in queues for long hours to lay to rest Preeti from Cox town who was admitted to Bowring hospital three days ago with Covid complications. A relative said, “She developed fever and we rushed her to hospital. But she died on Sunday.” There were seven more Covid bodies waiting in ambulances outside gate no.4 of the burial ground.

Cemetery supervisor, Naga, said, “On Sunday, we had 11 Covid burials and today, there have been 10 so far. This year, we’re seeing more young people who died of Covid.”

As the Covid deaths are increasing every day, crematoria and burial grounds are witnessing long queues of ambulances with bodies. Places like Kudlu Crematorium are extending cremation into the small hours of the next day. A caretaker at this BBMP facility said, “It takes almost an hour to cremate a body. There was a huge queue on Sunday as a result of which the cremation went on till late into the night as bodies kept coming.”

On Monday afternoon, there were many ambulances and waiting and relatives who accompanied the bodies were sorrowful about the lack of beds, oxygen and proper care of patients. An enraged relative of a 40-year-old victim said, “We had to struggle for a bed and an oxygen cylinder. While we shifted him from one place to another to find a bed, he passed away.”

Woman curator out to help

At the Indian Christian Cemetry, a woman named Anne Morris, 43, does her best to console the families. She is a canine trainer and curator at the burial ground who joined in mid-February to help families. She said, “This is also a service and I’m honoured to do my bit for victims.”

Most of the time, Anne lends her shoulder to carry the bodies along with workers and also guides the grave-digging work. Covid victims are buried 10ft under and not 6ft, which is the norm.

Anne said, “We have almost run out of space to bury Covid victims. Cases are increasing and it’s taking a toll on funeral workers here.” She was also infected a couple of times and even lost her sense of taste.