While there are no official figures to demonstrate how many bodies have been cremated across the country, photos and video of smoldering funeral pyres in India’s makeshift crematoriums have come to symbolize the country’s Covid-19 crisis. Parking lots in New Delhi are now also being converted to accommodate the rising number of bodies.
And it’s not just India’s crematoriums that are overwhelmed. New Delhi’s main Muslim graveyard for victims of Covid-19 is also running out of space, resulting in some Muslims having to cremate their loved ones, Reuters reported...
Dressed in protective gear, volunteers toil in the scorching heat, sometimes up to 20 hours a day, according to Jeet. Together, the team builds funeral pyres, cremates the bodies, and then clears the area to start the process all over again. Team members limit their water breaks, even as temperatures soar to more than 107 degrees Fahrenheit. Most don’t dare remove their masks for fear of getting infected.
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