GUWAHATI, India (AP) – The Ramanand government never wanted to burn corpses for a living, but they were deep in debt and desperate for money.
The 43-year-old, who started selling sugarcane juice on a wooden cart, fled a remote village in India’s northeastern state of Assam after failing to repay a loan. But even in the state capital, the government had trouble finding enough work.
Then two years ago, the government walked into the Guwahati cemetery to light the cremation cremation.
While Hindus believe that the right to a funeral is sacred and frees the soul of a dead person from the cycle of reincarnation, those who actually deal with corpses are looked after. It is a stigma that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus alone, which has killed more than 100,000 people out of 6.4 million infections in India.
The government felt he had come to terms with his reputation, finally telling his wife what his job was after hiding for a while. But then in early May, he regularly participated in what he thought was a cemetery, unaware that the woman had died through Covid-19.
When people found out that the woman was a victim of coronavirus, government acquaintances began to keep her away. Insults flooded back.
State officials kept him under quarantine for a few days, but released him because no one was available to do his job at the cemetery.
“I do not understand why people hate me. Just because I burn corpses? The government asked. “If I don’t do this, who will?”
The government volunteers and now works in a special cemetery designated by the local authorities for the victims of the epidemic.
With a mask on his face and a prayer on his lips, he performed the funeral rites brought by a handful of relatives, in protective attire to the passengers, who were conducted with minimal rituals under the guidance of the state government.
Since the onset of the epidemic, more than 181,600 confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in the state of Assam and 711 people have died. The government said it had buried more than 450 Kovid-19 victims alone.
Despite their vital community service, the government’s impact on their own lives continues to deteriorate.
When his landlord heard about the government’s work, he told them you had to get out. Thankfully a district official arranged a hotel room for him.
The government was prevented from returning to his village to meet his family, first by the village head and then, after the intervention of the villagers by the local authorities.
A month after his wife and three sons were not seen, the government stormed his village in the middle of a recent rainy night. He called his family from the street outside his house and was able to spend 15 minutes with them and leave them some money.
The government said, ‘I don’t want my sons to become carpenters like me.’ “I want them to go to school and become good men and gain respect from society, not like me who want to meet their family in the dark.”
Returning to the city, the government decided to stop at a nearby temple to rest, but temple officials told him to leave soon.
The government took him back to the cemetery and said that, despite personal costs – including the risk of infection – it would light the funerals of those who lost their lives to the virus and pay their best respects. .
“I could die because of Covid-19, but I don’t care.” “I will do my job faithfully to the end.”
.
