The Phaphamau Ghat in the northern part of Prayagraj has become a graveyard of sorts and with yellow and saffron-coloured clothes on temporarily-erected poles indicating that bodies have been buried. This is not part of the traditional Hindu religious practice but people are resorting to it as they find it “convenient” while some even call it a custom.
Last year, during a severe phase of Delta variant of Covid-19, this place had got a bad name amid reports of bodies floating in Ganga. It was shown in sections of media, especially foreign media, that people who had died of Covid-19 had been buried or their bodies had been “dumped” in Ganga. Several restrictions were also imposed. But today when the Covid-19 situation is under control the practice of burying bodies continues showing the falsity of these reports. People continue to come to Ganga for “salvation” of their near and dear ones and are burying the bodies. Some are calling it a custom and others are citing “financial constraints”. But despite a ban, the burial continues for the bodies as people say Ganga will take these bodies when it expands its course.
International media did not apparently investigate the reason behind the open burial of bodies near the banks of Ganga and chose to link it with the Covid-19 deaths. It is pertinent to note that this year the international media has chosen not to report the open burial of bodies near the banks of the river. India has witnessed a sharp decline in Covid-19 cases this year with high vaccination coverage being a major contributing factor to the country’s success in battling the pandemic.
The banks of Ganga have bodies of people from several districts of Uttar Pradesh. “In Hinduism, the funeral is done by burning the pyre in which a lot of wood is used. Here, the body gets absorbed in the Ganga. There is nothing wrong with all this,” said Teerthraj Patel, a local resident, who was at the ghat attending a funeral of his relative. “The ghat is used by people from various districts. They are aware of the contraction of the river Ganga during the summer season. They know that when the river will expand in the rainy season, the bodies will be submerged in the river and their loved ones will get salvation. This is why there is temporary burial in sand,” he added.
Another local resident present on the ghat said that the bodies will ultimately go into the Ganga river. “In summers, the width of the Ganga gets reduced. When the water level will rise, the bodies will get absorbed in the Ganga’s flow and as per beliefs this helps to attain moksha. Burying the bodies in sand is simple and economical. Therefore, people from several districts come here to bury the bodies keeping aside the traditional rituals,” he said.
The restrictions imposed concerning burying of the dead bodies on the ghat has seemingly made little impact and the people continue to throng the ghats. Prayagraj Municipal Commissioner Ravi Ranjan said that an electric crematorium will be built at the ghat soon.