Mumbai, April 4, 2020: The Archdiocese of Bombay has asked its priests to follow the directives of the municipal commissioner and cremate Covid-19 victims rather than bury them.
“In a video message to priests, Cardinal Oswald Gracias suggested in view of the extraordinary circumstances they would respect the call of the municipal commissioner and cremate any novel coronavirus victims,” Father Nigel Barrett, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Bombay, informed the Times of India.
Early this week, municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi had issued a directive under the Epidemic Act, 1897, stating all victims of Covid-19 would be cremated and, if a family insisted on a burial, then it would have to be done outside the city.
The circular was, however, immediately withdrawn after Minority Affairs minister Nawab Malik objected to it. An amended circular issued a few hours later said burial would be allowed if the burial grounds were large enough so as not to create the possibility of the virus spreading in the neighboring areas.
Father Barrett said in view of the amended circular, a family would be granted a burial if they insisted as long as they followed WHO guidelines.
Meanwhile, former Congress minister Naseem Khan, in a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, noted the anger in the Muslim community over a Covid-19 victim not being allowed burial at Malwani on April 1. He said the government must earmark a portion in all kabrastans across the state for victims of the pandemic.
Maharashtra tops Indian states in the number of coronavirus positive cases. As on April 4, the western India state reported 635 cases and 32 deaths. It was followed by Tamil Nadu with 486 cases and 3 deaths and Delhi with 445 cases and 6 deaths.
Kerala, which reported the first coronavirus positive case in India, was placed fourth with 306 positive cases and two deaths.
At the same time, India recorded 3,671 positive cases and 99 deaths from the deadly virus.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com