No data available on bodies dumped in Ganga during second wave of COVID-19: Center

“Incidents of unclaimed/unknown, burnt or partially burnt bodies, found floating in river or on land, at shallow depth, on the banks of river Ganga came in the media from some districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Tudu said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

The minister answered the question of Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien. The TMC MP had sought information about the bodies of Covid victims dumped in the Ganga river and the measures to be taken to retrieve them as per protocol.

Tudu further said that the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) of the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) had sought a report on the floating carcasses from the respective state governments and action was taken to ensure their proper handling, management and disposal or was considered. By the state authorities to ensure the safety of river Ganga.

He said that the ministry had directed the chief secretaries of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal and all district Ganga committees for proper handling, management and disposal of dead bodies by the state authorities following the COVID-19 protocol. and ensured safety. River Ganga.

Last year, several disturbing videos and pictures surfaced on the internet of bodies being laid down The River Ganges Near Bihar and Uttar Pradesh during the second wave of the pandemic.

Later, a government mandated study Claimed that there were no traces of coronavirus in the water of the Ganges after the bodies were removed from the river.

The study was conducted by the National Mission for Clean Ganga under the Ministry of Jal Shakti in collaboration with the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), Lucknow, Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution. control Board.