Government's 'no info' reply on 'Covid bodies in Ganga' riles opposition

The information on the number of bodies found floating in the Ganga during the peak of the Covid-19 second wave is not available, the government said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday kicking up a political controversy.

The written reply was given in response to Trinamool MP Derek O' Brien's question on the number of Covid-19 related bodies estimated to have been dumped in the Ganga and measures taken to remove and dispose them, as per protocols.

Junior jal shakti minister Bishweswar Tudu said in the reply: "The incidents of unclaimed/ unidentified, burnt or partially burnt dead bodies, found floating in the river or on the grounds, in the shallow depth, on the banks of the river Ganga were reported from certain districts in the states of UP and Bihar, in the media. The National Mission for Clean Ganga sought from concerned state governments a report on the dead bodies found floating and action taken or contemplated... The information regarding the number of Covid-19 related dead bodies estimated to have been dumped in the river Ganga is not available."


The minister said in the reply that advisories were also issued to the chief secretaries of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Bengal for ensuring proper "handling, management and disposal of dead bodies by the state authorities following Covid-19 protocol and ensuring protection of the river Ganga".

Congress' KC Venugopal pointed out that the reply was almost identical to that provided to questions about deaths due to oxygen shortage. "The government is misleading the Parliament... I got the same reply when I asked how many deaths had happened because of oxygen shortage," he said.

RJD MP Manoj Jha said, "There cannot be a more insensitive and indecent answer than this."