VIDEO: Ganges river floods exposes India’s covid graves
More than 1000 corpses have washed up since May. Health professionals have accused the Indian government of fudging its coronavirus figures to hide the true death toll.
Shallow graves are emerging and bodies are floating down India’s Ganges river as it swells with seasonal flooding. Makeshift cremations are being carried out as locals worry about possible health concerns.
Annual monsoon rain has caused flooding along the River Ganges in India and exposed hundreds of graves of coronavirus victims. Most of the bodies are thought to be of people who died during a big rise in cases earlier this year. The discovery has fueled allegations that the Modi government has concealed the true number of COVID-19 fatalities. India’s most sacred river has turned into a graveyard.
Most are believed to have died from coronavirus in April and May when India was hit by a spike in infections that overwhelmed hospitals in many areas.
Some families were unable to afford firewood for traditional Hindu cremations so bodies were immersed in the Ganges or buried in sandbanks adjacent to the river.
These are now becoming flooded because of annual monsoon rains swelling the river, washing away the sand and revealing the corpses.
The number of such graves has stoked suspicions that India’s total deaths from the pandemic may be over a million, several times the official toll of almost 400,000.
During a surge in cases, crematoriums could not keep up with demand. Cremations that families could not afford are now being carried out on the river banks. More than 1000 corpses have washed up since May. Health professionals have accused the Indian government of fudging its coronavirus figures to hide the true death toll. The official number stands at nearly 400,000.
The hundreds of corpses emerging from the Ganges suggest that number may be far higher.
