As India’s coronavirus cases surge, volunteers step in where government failed
- With the Narendra Modi-led BJP government overwhelmed by the Covid-19 crisis, NGOs, ordinary citizens and even the diaspora are doing what they can
- Putting religious differences aside, volunteers are helping cremate bodies, source oxygen or simply sending meals to those quarantining alone
Suited up in blue protective gear and wearing a face shield under his bright yellow turban, Jitender Singh Shunty sprays disinfectant on bodies at the Seemapuri cremation ground in northeast Delhi.
He has to be quick as corpses are arriving faster than they can be burned. Families and friends of the deceased, who had tried to find hospital beds and oxygen to save their relatives, are thin on patience.
“We are doing everything we can to help these grieving families at least have a decent funeral of their loved ones,” he said as he hurried to attend to another ambulance which had just arrived with two bodies.
Singh Shunty founded Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal 25 years ago, to perform funerals on unclaimed corpses at hospitals. The NGO turned its attention to Covid-19 victims last year, and since the start of April, when India experienced a resurgence in the virus, he and his 20 volunteers have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of bodies arriving. “Last year we cremated 967 bodies, we have already cremated 670 this month alone,” he said.
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