The state government has directed deputy commissioners of all 24 districts of Jharkhand to appoint nodal officers to ensure respectful and timely cremation of Covid patients, the order coming days after the Mukti Dham imbroglio in Ranchi where over a dozen bodies of Covid patients had to lay unattended in ambulances outside the crematorium for over 24 hours owing to a technical snag in the incinerator.

State health secretary K.K. Soan, in a letter addressed to all deputy commissioners, said that all districts must be prepared for cremation of coronavirus- infected bodies in advance to ensure that there are no roadblocks in the process of cremation even if the count of bodies is high.

“There has been a sudden rise in the number of Covid casualties reported every day. In such a situation, all the districts are advised to be prepared for timely and respectful cremation of such bodies well in advance,” the health secretary’s letter stated.

As per government data, at least 40 Covid patients have died in Jharkhand during the past 48 hours. At least 22 of them were residents of Ranchi. The electric incinerator at Ranchi Mukti Dham, used only for cremation of Covid victims, remained defunct for more than 48 hours, forcing authorities to look for alternative places where bodies of Covid victims could be cremated. Eventually, many of these bodies were cremated at Swarnarekha Ghat in suburban Ranchi’s Bada Ghaghra.

Officials from the district administration, who inspected the Swarnarekha Ghat on Sunday, said that even though the bodies would be cremated in the traditional way, all necessary protocols for cremation of Covid bodies would be followed.

The health secretary, in his letter to deputy commissioners, also directed all officials in districts to provide Moksha Vahan, a hearse provided by the government, for Covid victims. The nodal officers for cremation of Covid bodies, Soan said, could be directly contacted in case any family faces hurdles in cremation.

As per latest data with the National Health Mission (NHM), as many as 1,232 people have died of Covid in the state so far. Jharkhand has reported 118 Covid deaths in April and at least 50 of these victims were residents of Ranchi, highlights data compiled by the NHM.

The incinerator at Mukti Dham in Ranchi’s Harmu has been used for cremation of Covid bodies since the advent of the virus in March 2020. Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) officials said the incinerator broke down on Sunday due to overuse.