Mass cremations become necessary in Delhi as bodies keep piling up

NEW DELHI: As the Capital continues to reel under the fierce fourth wave of the pandemic here amid an alarmingly rising death toll, crematoria and burial grounds in the city have run out of space.

One such crematorium in the Seelampur area was packed with a parking lot adjacent to it being used as a makeshift space to conduct mass cremations.

In fact, at the crematorium, around seven ambulances with bodies inside them were lined up outside the premises. At the facility managed by the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Seva Dal, supervisor Deepak Sharma said that they have space for 65 bodies but the same has been increased to 75 now in view of the demand.

“Around 75 bodies have arrived as of 4 pm and 40 bodies are still lying at the hospital which now have to be divided among crematoriums...the pressure on the workers has increased a lot,” Sharma said.

Jitender Singh Shunty who runs the non-profit medical service, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal, told wire agency Reuters, “No one in Delhi would have ever witnessed such a scene. Children who were 5 years old, 15 years old, 25 years old are being cremated. Newlyweds are being cremated. It’s difficult to watch.”