Another 52 bodies were found floating in Ballia, UP

Another 52 bodies were found floating in Ballia, UP

Another 52 bodies were found floating in Ballia, UP

New Delhi : Recovery of bodies floating in the Ganga continued for the third day today. After Buxar (Bihar) and Ghazipur (UP), Ballia witnessed similar disturbing scenes today with the local administration claiming to have fished out 52 corpses from the river.

Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Rajiv Ranjan Mishra has written to the authorities concerned in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, asking them to initiate immediate measures to check the dumping of corpses into the river.

So far, 52 bodies have been retrieved from the Ganga near Ujiyar, Kulhadia and Bharauli ghats in the Narahi area of Ballia. The process of their “respectful” disposal was underway, a district official said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday night, Ballia District Magistrate Aditi Singh said some decomposed bodies were seen floating under the Ballia-Buxar bridge. She said Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Sadar) Rajesh Yadav and Circle Officer Jagveer Singh Chauhan were probing the matter and that the last rites of the deceased were performed with due respect.

Officials in Ballia district said the possibilities of bodies coming from the Bihar side could not be ruled out. “The distance between the Bharauli and Ujiyar ghats in Ballia and the Mahadev ghat in Buxar is only around 1 km,” a senior district official said.

Another 52 bodies were found floating in Ballia, UP

Another 52 bodies were found floating in Ballia, UP

Meanwhile, in a directive to the authorities concerned in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the NMCG has asked them to immediately check the dumping of bodies into the Ganga or its tributaries.

“All unidentified bodies/unclaimed corpses of suspected Covid victims should be disposed of properly in accordance with the Covid-safety protocol,” the NMCG DG said. “Take necessary action to address the issue at the earliest and submit an action taken report to the NMCG in 14 days,” the DG said.