Officials in India are definitely having some problems. First of all, there have been dozens of dead bodies that have been discovered floating on the Ganges River in the Eastern part of India. So far, at least 70 bodies have been recovered from this river, and no cause of death has been able to be determined. This is due in part to the advanced state of decomposition that the bodies have been in once they have been discovered.
Many of the Indians that live along the Ganges River are concerned about these events, and some are even speculating that this might have something to do with the recent surge in COVID-19 cases across the country.
India: Struggling To Keep Up With the Mortality Rate
The bodies are washing up primarily in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which has as many as 240 million inhabitants. As the most populous state in India, it is definitely been host to a tremendous surge in COVID-19 fatalities.
The current surge of the COVID-19 virus in India has proven to be very costly and deadly. The country is currently reporting as much as 4,000 fatalities per day, and that’s not the worst of it. Officials think that number might even be a massive undercount. The medical infrastructure of India has absolutely been completely overwhelmed in some areas due to the pandemic. They have bodies literally everywhere, and according to Indian Hindu tradition they are supposed to be cremated. However, officials are encountering severe difficulties keeping up with the cremation demands.
In the capital city of New Delhi, many relatives have frequently abandoned their deceased relatives and simply left the proper rites to be carried out by volunteers. So, what is the chief explanation for these bodies washing up from the Ganges River? Part of the explanation is probably due to this being a rural area where medical resources are lacking.
Bodies Everywhere in the Ganges
There are parts of India that are experiencing major shortages in wood for cremating their loved ones. They are experiencing an enormous surge in demand for these traditional Hindu burial practices. Officials continue to comment on the sheer impossibility of determining just how the bodies wound up in the river. However, there are other officials who think that people are simply disposing of their deceased loved ones in the river due to the shortage in burial wood.
Of course, the Ganges is considered a holy river in Hinduism, which means that according to Hinduism this method of disposal is a lot more respectful than it would appear to other observers. Indeed, we as Americans might think of a serial killer when we hear about bodies washing up in a river. However, this isn’t necessarily the case in India.
On the other hand, placing these bodies in the river is not as desirable for those who already live along the river. Moreover, there is a significant amount of decomposition caused by the river, and that is creating a major headache for Indian officials. Thus, these Indian scientists also have no way to determine if COVID-19 actually caused these fatalities.
Naturally, the people of Uttar Pradesh will find the sight of bodies floating down the holy Ganges River an unpleasant sight, so hopefully an explanation can be found soon.
What do you think about these bodies in the Ganges River in India? Your comments would be appreciated!