Bhopal deaths: Government says 104, crematoriums 2,557

Bhopal, May 2

Crematoriums here claim that the last rites of 2,557 Covid victims from Bhopal district were performed in April, sharply contradicting the BJP-led state government's data which puts the Covid-19 deaths in the district last month at 104. The mammoth mismatch has given credence to claims of massive under-reporting of fatalities.

Managers of two crematoriums and a cemetery in Bhopal said the last rites of 3,811 people, including 2,557 Covid patients from Bhopal district, were performed in the city last month. Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra has rubbished allegations of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government under-reporting the deaths in the state.

"Altogether, 2,052 people were cremated at our facility last month. As many as 1,654 of them had died of Covid," crematorium secretary Mamtesh Sharma said. "These 1,654 bodies came from Covid-19 designated centres in air-tight plastic bags as per the protocol to prevent the spread of the disease," he said.

The Bhadbhada crematorium and the Zada cemetery in Bhopal were initially authorised to perform the last rites of Covid patients in the district, an official said. However, due to the rise in the fatalities, another crematorium, Subhash Nagar Vishram Ghat, was also allowed to conduct the last rites, he said.

"The last rites of 1,386 persons were performed at our crematorium last month. As many as 727 of them had died due to the virus," Subhash Nagar Vishram Ghat manager Sobhraj Sukhwani said. Rehan Golden, president of the Zada cemetery committee in Jahangirabad area said 373 burials, including those of 176 Covid victims, took place in the burial ground last month.

The official death toll in Bhopal district last month, collated using the daily bulletins issued by the Madhya Pradesh Government in April, comes to 104. As per the government records, the virus has so far claimed 742 lives in Bhopal since the first case last year. PTI