Coronavirus deceased bodies taken away in JCB, tractors in Andhra, mistreatment triggers outrage
Andhra Pradesh: In shocking incidents of governmental apathy, authorities in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam towed away Covid-19 deceased on JCB excavator and tractors.
In one incident, a 72-year-old coronavirus patient’s body was placed on mechanical diggers and excavators by PPE-clad municipal personnel and taken away for cremation.
The incident was reported in Udayapuram area of Palasa municipality which is one of the worst-affected regions in the Srikakulam district.
The deceased had been working as a sanitation employee in the local municipality and had been sick for quite some time. He died at his home on Thursday.
Unfortunately, he tested positive for coronavirus after his death on Friday which created panic among family and the locals, who pressured the authorities to take the body away quickly.
The incident has attracted massive criticism from all quarters, forcing the Srikakulam authorities to launch an investigation. The local sanitary inspector has also been suspended.
This is not the only case of insensitivity in the district. In another incident in the same district, in other division called Sompeta, the deceased’s body was shifted for cremation on a tractor.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s YS Jagan Mohan Reddy ordered the suspension of the Municipal Commissioner and the sanitation inspector after India Today TV reported on the indignities heaped on the dead in Srikakulam.
“There is a clear protocol on how to act at such times, it is inhumane to move the body through Poclain in violation of regulations,” said the CMO in a statement.
It also directed the district collector to take immediate action against those responsible, he suspended Palasa Municipal Commissioner T Nagendra Kumar and Sanitary Inspector N Rajeev.
