Aerial photographs of the crematorium in Delhi are raising concerns about the death toll in the state. The actual number of Covid-19 deaths in crematoriums since last week may be different from official figures. After visiting the city’s civic body and seven cremation ghats, a private TV channel claims that it found that at least 1,150 deaths had not added it to the official Covid’s list.
Data collected by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for 26 crematoriums show that between April 18 and April 24, 3,096 bodies of Covid victims were burnt. Whereas the total number of Covid deaths released by the Delhi government during the same period shows 1,938 deaths. This indicates that 1,158 Covid deaths have not been counted in Delhi.
The MCD only counts those who have died from covids, who die in hospitals. The reason for the mismatch of its data with the official figures is not yet known.
Anuj Bansal, a staff member at the Ghazipur crematorium, said, “People who come from hospitals, they come in ambulances. Others bring (the body) from home, but if we look at their report, we will know that it is a failure.” “
He said, “We consider the cause of his death to be normal.If the death occurred in a hospital, we find out what Covid is. We don’t know for sure when the death occurred at home, so we always consider it normal. “
The MCD does not even consider these deaths to be Covid’s death. If the family states at the crematorium that the victim was fighting Covid, it is counted in a different category called “suspect”. However, cremation occurs with the Covid protocol.
