48 bodies found near Ganga ghats in Buxar

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 10

Nearly four dozen bodies were today found floating in the Ganga in Bihar’s western district Buxar, bordering Uttar Pradesh.

A few bodies were found near the Mahadev and Simri cremation ghats along the Ganga in Chausa block.

According to locals, who talked to The Tribune on phone, several bodies were seen floating from west to east (from UP to Bihar), while a few of them landed near the Mahadev and Simri ghats.

Covid fear

• May have been abandoned for fear of Covid, say locals
• District admn claim corpses came with river current from UP

“Even as the district administration has claimed that these bodies have come from the adjoining UP districts of Varanasi and Ghazipur with the flow of river water, a few of the bodies were seen tied to bamboo sticks, indicating that they had been abandoned by locals out of fear of Covid infection. Bodies coming from as far as 70 km away (from Varanasi) would have got untied,” said Kalicharan Singh, a resident of Chausa block.

He went on to add: “The cremation charges, which used to be between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000, have gone up manifold. Now the charges range from Rs 16,000 to Rs 20,000. This may also be the reason for people abandoning bodies.”

However, District Magistrate of Buxar Aman Sameer said, “After finding the bodies on the banks of the Ganga, senior officials rushed to the spot to assess the situation. They have found that the bodies reached the district with the river current. Till now, we have found 48 bodies and made all arrangements for their respectful disposal.”

Meanwhile, officials from UP’s Gamhar block of Ghazipur district have also reached Buxar and coordinated efforts are on to ensure that bodies are not thrown in the river, a district officer said.

The Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) KK Upadhyay said the matter was under investigation. “We are alerting officials near the ghats to ensure this does not happen again,” he added.