PRAYAGRAJ: The rising level of Flooding The waters of the Ganges river have submerged the vast area between the two sides of the Phaphamau Bridge, which was the site of mass burials. Earlier on the banks of the town side of Phaphamau Ghat, strong currents were breaking rapidly, bringing in contact with many dead bodies.
The site, which has recently made national headlines, is located in a vast sandy area between the Phaphamau Road Bridge and the old Curzon Bridge. The flood situation can be gauged from the fact that the water level of river Ganga in Phaphamau was 76.67 meters on June 20 and 76.70 meters on June 21. However, by 4 pm on Monday, it increased to 78.32.
An increase of about two meters in the amount of water has submerged hundreds of tombs, which were previously at risk of being exposed by the strong currents of the Ganges. Due to the flood, many graves covered with sheets can be seen. Since June 4, a large number of bodies buried in this area were being exposed by strong erosion of the river bank. The situation was so dire that Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) Circle Officer Neeraj Singh cremated more than 40 bodies in a day.
Till Saturday, this PMC official has cremated 155 bodies. He led from the front, overseeing the work of removing the semi-exposed body from under the sand to laying the pyre. He lit each of the 155 pyres himself, without thinking about who they were.
In fact, on June 17, his team found a dead body wrapped in a PPE kit but still cremated it without any fear or prejudice. Now there is a flood. We are still keeping a close watch on the entire area and five team members are keeping a close watch even at night. Though now the threat to the buried bodies is very less, we are not taking any chances”, said Neeraj Singh while talking to TOI.
“Now that the flood has happened, the river will flow above the ground in which a large number of dead bodies are buried. Due to the floods, the bodies would decompose and as the bodies were not exposed, there was no chance of the dogs and jackals catching the body”, said 60-year-old Gadhru, a local sailor.
The site, which has recently made national headlines, is located in a vast sandy area between the Phaphamau Road Bridge and the old Curzon Bridge. The flood situation can be gauged from the fact that the water level of river Ganga in Phaphamau was 76.67 meters on June 20 and 76.70 meters on June 21. However, by 4 pm on Monday, it increased to 78.32.
An increase of about two meters in the amount of water has submerged hundreds of tombs, which were previously at risk of being exposed by the strong currents of the Ganges. Due to the flood, many graves covered with sheets can be seen. Since June 4, a large number of bodies buried in this area were being exposed by strong erosion of the river bank. The situation was so dire that Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) Circle Officer Neeraj Singh cremated more than 40 bodies in a day.
Till Saturday, this PMC official has cremated 155 bodies. He led from the front, overseeing the work of removing the semi-exposed body from under the sand to laying the pyre. He lit each of the 155 pyres himself, without thinking about who they were.
In fact, on June 17, his team found a dead body wrapped in a PPE kit but still cremated it without any fear or prejudice. Now there is a flood. We are still keeping a close watch on the entire area and five team members are keeping a close watch even at night. Though now the threat to the buried bodies is very less, we are not taking any chances”, said Neeraj Singh while talking to TOI.
“Now that the flood has happened, the river will flow above the ground in which a large number of dead bodies are buried. Due to the floods, the bodies would decompose and as the bodies were not exposed, there was no chance of the dogs and jackals catching the body”, said 60-year-old Gadhru, a local sailor.
.