JOIN USTamil Nadu CM laments opposition to burial of doctors who died of coronavirus
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Tuesday regretted the episodes where locals opposed the burial of doctors who died of COVID-19 in the city and urged all to respect the dedication of the health workers. He also equated doctors, besides other frontline workers in the battle against coronavirus, to God for the "selfless" services rendered by them. Due protocol was being followed in the burial of such victims, he said.
The city police chief warned of "severe action" against those preventing burial or victims of COVID-19. "It is sad that the burial of doctors was opposed to at a time when (doctors) are fighting to protect us against coronavirus," he wrote on his official twitter handle, @CMOTamilNadu. "We all should respect their dedication and act with humanity," he added.
Read: A burial that was not: Chennai doctor's last rites see attacks, protest amidst coronavirus fears
In two separate incidents last week, two doctors died of COVID-19 in the city, but locals protested against their burial on grounds of fears of spread of the pandemic. On both occasions, the mortal remains were buried elsewhere after officials could not perform the formalities in the originally selected localities. Incidentally, on Sunday night an orthopaedic surgeon had to bury his associate, a neurosurgeon who died of COVID-19, in the middle of the night using his bare hands and a shovel at a crematorium with the help of two hospital ward boys after the undertakers fled when a mob, protesting the interment, attacked them with bricks, stones, bottles and sticks and chased them away.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Palaniswami said frontline workers in the battle against COVID-19 such as doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and police personnel were engaged in "selfless" duty. "The whole country is praising them for their work. I consider these, who are working to protect lives, equal to God," he said in the statement.
He further said the government has ordered that the burial or cremation of people who had died of coronavirus be done with "due protection" but expressed regret over the incidents where people protested against such formalities for the deceased doctors. Referring to a couplet from Thirukkural, he urged people to show respect to those selfless persons who die while trying to protect the public and sought for due cooperation.
Assuring his government's "total support" to such frontline workers, he said it will take due steps to ensure such incidents do not repeat and asked them not to have any fears. Meanwhile, City Police Commissioner A K Viswanathan described yesterday's incident as "inhuman violence" and condemned it. As many as 21 people have been arrested in connection with the incident and action will be taken against them under the stringent Goondas Act, he said. "Corporation and Health department are doing the burial as per World Health Organisation (WHO) guidlines.
Doctors and experts have said there is no possibilty of spread (from a dead body)," he told reporters. He warned that police would take "severe action" against those preventing the burial, saying even Goondas Act could be slapped against them. The Greater Chennai Corporation appealed for public cooperation to ensure that those who died of COVID-19 are given a dignified burial or cremation. The civic body, in a release, said it was fighting the pandemic on a 'war-footing' and all it's staff were working round the clock to contain it.
Despite all the efforts, it was unfortunate to lose a few lives due to the virus, it said, adding that "as fellow humans it is our duty to show compassion and empathy in sending off the deceased." "They deserve to have a respectful farewell from this world", it said and rued the the "obstruction" to burial or cremation of the deceased in some places, which it said, was unfortunate. "GCC hereby clarifies that the bodies of the deceased are handled safely as per set protocols," it said.
Both burial and cremation were approved by the WHO, Government of India and the state government", it said. The Corporation said there was absolutely no spread of the infection in the neighbourhood and said the public need not fear or panic over such burial or cremation. "We request all to cooperate with us to ensure dignified burial or cremation of the deceased", it said.