The TLDR: Bodies were found floating down the Ganga river—a new horror that brings home the near-incomprehensible tragedy of the second wave. There isn’t so much to explain here, but it deserves to be our big story of the day. 

First, the numbers: We added 305,284 new cases and 3,493 deaths. But we only conducted 1.47 million tests—which is nearly 400,000 fewer than Saturday. The numbers are lower across 16 states, but that is due to decreasing number of tests: 

“Experts, however, are concerned that the numbers of daily tests have not kept pace with the surge and, in some states, declined at a time India has a high positivity rate—positive cases among those tested—of 24% instead of an ideal less than 5%. ‘What this suggests is that for every 100,000 fewer tests on a day, we’re missing about 24,000 infections’, [said] Rijo M. John, professor of health economics.”

As we’ll see below, the lower number of recorded cases in turn makes the death tallies suspect. 

The bodies in the Ganga

What should now be crystal-clear is that our official tally of deaths is complete fiction. And there is no greater proof than the sight of decomposed and bloated bodies found floating down the Ganga in Bihar’s Buxar district. The official number is 40-45, but other reports put the number at 150. FYI: a number of bodies have also turned up in the Yamuna in next-door Uttar Pradesh. (See the very disturbing clip from Bihar here)

Who are these people: These are likely people who died in UP where the official death count is 15,742. Over recent weeks, the number of fatalities in UP have doubled—and even increased five fold in certain districts. But it is unlikely that these bodies were among the official tally. 

Missing in data: A number of Indian and foreign publications (See: The Guardian) have noted the huge discrepancy between UP’s official figures and the actual number of funerals. But the greatest number of missed deaths are likely in the villages—where there is no testing. The Print reports on just one Muslim ‘kasba’ in Shahjahanpur where there have been 26 deaths within a month—all of them unreported as Covid fatalities. Locals claim health authorities are not conducting enough tests—and it often seems “futile because results take up to 4-6 days to come, by when some patients are already dead.” Also see: This village in Rohtak where 18 people have died over 10 days due to a “mystery fever.”

Point to note: So far, the media have been using funerals to cross-check and challenge official data. But what happens to those who die without a proper funeral? The bodies that are turning up in rivers are likely not being tracked by news reports either. 

So why is this happening? 

Here are some reasons, none of which are comforting:

One: The cost of cremations. According to local residents: “It nearly costs Rs 30,000-40,000 to cremate a body. So the poor people prefer to push bodies into the river Ganga.” 

Two: Overwhelmed crematoriums. A local resident told The Telegraph that many are unable to secure a space for a funeral—and don’t have money to bribe the crematorium managers. One said: 

“Covid is killing people in large numbers here. At least 40 bodies are now lined up at the Mahadev Ghat in Chausa. I believe many of them may eventually be thrown into the river.”

Several others flagged the shortage of firewood and other funeral materials due to the lockdown.

Point to note: Even in the cities, people are desperately looking for priests to perform the last rites. The reason: The priests are terrified of catching Covid. The ones who do agree charge huge fees for it. So it could be one more reason why bodies are being put into the river without a funeral. 

Three: Shocking lapses at the crematoriums:

“Another said that administration officials often refused to hand over Covid patients’ bodies to their families, promising to perform the last rites themselves while observing the pandemic protocols. ‘But the officials later develop cold feet and, fearing they might catch the infection, dump the bodies in the river and flee,’ he told PTI.

 

Akash Mishra, a farmer and social worker from Buxar, told this newspaper over the phone: ‘I was there on Monday morning and counted at least 50 bodies.’ He said some of the bodies were half-burnt, suggesting they were dumped in the river midway during cremation—either because the firewood ran out or because the crematory assistants wanted to clear the queues.”

The final insult: The bodies that were retrieved from the river did not get proper cremations in the end. According to India Today, they were all put into a pit and buried together. Also this: “Those who disposed of the corpses were neither given nor possessed any PPE kit.” Watch this clip of a crematorium worker who testifies to the bullying:

The bottomline: There are no words that can do justice to this story.

Reading list

There isn’t more in-depth reading on this tragedy. But here are the most important pandemic-related headlines and reads:

• The WHO has declared the ‘double mutant’ Indian variant as a global ‘variant of concern’—making it the fourth after the UK, South Africa and Brazil variants. WHO scientists agree it is more infectious but it isn’t clear if it can evade vaccine protection.
• There are more rumblings of concern within BJP rank-and-file—especially in UP where a number of MLAs have died of Covid. Mint has more on how party workers are beginning to question the leadership. 
• Speaking of UP: Article 14 has an excellent read on the catastrophic situation in the state. Also part of the UP shitshow: A new rule that limits vaccines to residents of the state. 
• Indian Express has two good reads on the faltering vaccination drive and increasing vaccine inequity. One great example of vaccine inequity: Star cricketers like Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma flaunting their jabs—which they are getting on a priority basis so they can head to England next month for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC). 
• Another vaccine-related read: The Telegraph on Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla’s rude awakening.
• The Delhi High Court offered unexpected hope to critics of the Central Vista Project. It has agreed to hear a petition that seeks a temporary suspension of construction activity due to the threat of Covid. 
• Meanwhile, on Mount Everest, China has drawn a line of separation to keep out potentially infected people from the Nepal side. BBC News has more.
• Ola has started a new good samaritan program to deliver oxygen concentrators to patients. You can now request a concentrator on your Ola app—at least if you are in Bangalore.
• Remnant good reads: Scroll on why we should view mathematical models that predict future cases with scepticism. Indian Express spent seven hours in the ICU, and the result is a brilliant piece of reporting. New Yorker analyses the politics behind India’s pandemic.