The horror of floating bodies in the Ganga river reached Patna on Thursday. Two days after the Bihar government fished out 71 bodies from the river in the Buxar district, locals spotted several bodies floating near the Gulabi Ghat in Patna.
“A number of bodies, including a body of a child, has been found floating in the river Ganga. We are keeping a check to ensure that bodies are not dumped in the river in our district,” Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh said.
The Gulabi Ghat on the Ganga river is used for cremation in Patna. The district magistrate said that his office is checking if the bodies were dumped in the river in Patna or someplace else.
Speaking to the media, Chandrashekhar Singh also urged people not to leave bodies in the river.
The district magistrate informed that the bodies will be fished out and cremated.
On Tuesday, the Bihar government fished out 71 bodies from the Ganges in Buxar district, triggering suspicion that the abandoned corpses could be those of Covid-19 patients.
According to Ballia residents in Uttar Pradesh, at least 52 bodies were seen floating at the Ujiyar, Kulhadia and Bharauli ghats in the Narahi area. However, the district authorities did not tell the exact number of bodies found there.
On Monday, residents in Hamirpur district spotted five bodies floating in the Yamuna, creating a scare that these were of Covid patients. The bodies were later fished out and cremated.
Following this, the Centre on Tuesday asked states along the Ganga to ensure strict vigilance and check future incidences of people dumping bodies in the Ganga and its tributaries.
