Bhopal: Govt says 104, crematoriums say 2,557 deaths

Bhopal: Crematoriums here claim that the last rites of as many as 2,557 Coronavirus victims from Bhopal district were performed in April, sharply contradicting the BJP-led state government's data which puts the COVID-19 deaths in the district last month at 104.

The mammoth mismatch has given credence to claims of massive under-reporting of COVID-19 fatalities in the city.

Managers of two crematoriums and a cemetery in Bhopal said that the last rites of 3,811 people, including 2,557 Coronavirus patients from Bhopal district, were performed in the city last month.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra recently rubbished allegations about the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government underreporting COVID-19 deaths in the state.

"Altogether 2,052 people were cremated at our facility last month. As many as 1,654 of them had died of Coronavirus," Bhadbhada Vishram Ghat crematorium secretary Mamtesh Sharma said. Those 1,654 bodies had reached the crematorium from COVID-19 designated centres in air-tight plastic bags as per coronavirus protocol to prevent the spread of the disease, Sharma said, adding they were consigned to flames.

The Bhadbhada crematorium and the Zada cemetery in Bhopal were initially authorised to perform the last rites of COVID-19 patients in the district, an official said.

However, due to the rise in fatalities, another crematorium, the Subhash Nagar Vishram Ghat, was also allowed to conduct the last rites, he said.

"The last rites of 1,386 persons were performed at our crematorium last month. As many as 727 of them had died due to the coronavirus," Subhash Nagar Vishram Ghat manager Sobhraj Sukhwani said.