The Ballari district administration on Tuesday apologised for an incident in which some government personnel in full COVID- 19 protective gear throwing body bags into a pit.
In the video that surfaced on social media, at least five personnel incomplete Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), is seen throwing black colour body bags into the pit highlighting the sorry state of affairs in carrying out the burial process of those who died due to COVID- 19.
“An enquiry was ordered under Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ballari and it was found that the video does belong to Ballari and comprises burial of eight people who passed away after succumbing to COVID- 19,”
S.S.Nakul, the Deputy Commissioner of the district said in a statement.
The video, that has been doing rounds on social media platforms, has evoked outrage with people questioning the way in which the mortal remains of COVID-19 related fatalities were being handled.
Also see : Inhumane treatment towards dead bodies – DC orders investigation
Also, several went online to outrage the way in which the bodies were handled and if it was humane on the part of the personnel to bury more than one body and the possibility that the deceased were being buried in mass graves.
There have been similar incidents across the country in which the state and central government has been accused of mismanagement of the pandemic and those infected by it.
The DC said that the team has since been disbanded and will be replaced by a new team. Nakul said that even though there was no specific mention of the number of dead bodies that can be buried in one grave, he conceded that it was not considered humane.
“The district administration regrets the incident and unconditionally apologises for this incident to the families of the departed in particular and people of Ballari in general,” according to the statement.
Ballari has seen an increase as the cluster in Jindal Steel plant has continued to grow and has over 500 infections in this containment zone that expands to over 8,000 acres and 20,000 people.
