Long queue of bodies as Prayagraj submerged

SUBMERGED in waist-deep water, a funeral procession trudges down an alley. At the streetcorner, a boat is moored; the mortal remains of the deceased kin are placed onto it. The boat will carry the dead, and living, to the Ganga for last rites, the gentle sound of lapping water and 'Raam naam satya hai' fading as it proceeds down the street.

- NAMITA BAJPAI @ Lucknow

The Holy cities along the Ganga—Prayagraj and Varanasi—have come to a standstill as floodwater continues to inundate vast urban stretches. Boats are traversing along city thoroughfares, ferrying people to their destinations.

Yet, perhaps the most poignant image of this civic breakdown is captured in the long queues at crematorium and burning ghats along the Holy River, as people await for hours to perform the last rites of their deceased kin.