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Delhi High Court has ordered the Delhi Government to submit a status report highlighting the degree of compliance with its own guidelines on the proper disposal of COVID19 patient bodies.
The court said: 'It is one thing to issue the directions/guidelines and it is absolutely a different thing to ensure the execution of those directions. We are not burdening the respondents by adding any further directions to the directions already issued by the respondent No.1 on 30th May, 2020.'
The court further observed that it expects the Delhi Government to properly execute the said guidelines so that the concerned dead bodies may be disposed of at the earliest and the relatives of those persons who have expired should be informed and other formalities be completed immediately.
Earlier, the Division Bench of Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Justice Asha Menon had taken a suo moto cognizance of a newspaper report which has highlighted the sad state of affairs in which the bodies of those who have died of COVID19 are being handled by the mortuary as well as crematoriums.
The direction was given by Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan in a suo moto matter concerning the sad state of affairs in which both the mortuary and the crematoria treat the bodies of those who died of COVID19.
The Delhi Government had told the Court in the last hearing that the highlighted condition emerged because of the following inevitable circumstances:
1. Reduced capacity of Nigambodh Ghat to handle bodies, on account of snags in furnaces
2. Workers at crematorium refusing to handle COVID-19 deceased;
3. Sudden spike in COVID-19 cases, and related deaths in Delhi;
4. Relatives refusing to come forward to claim bodies, etc.
Delhi Government had further informed the court that the following urgent steps were taken to address the situation:
1. LNJP being authorised to divert bodies to crematoriums at Panchkuian and Punjab Bagh, as opposed to only Nigambodh Ghat
2. Authorised wood fired traditional cremations, in addition to electric and CNG furnaces
3. PPE kits for all workers, as well as bodies
4. Extension of working hours of crematoriums 7am to 10pm (as opposed to 9am to 4pm)
The court was also informed that 28 bodies were disposed of on 28 May, and by tomorrow (30 May) the remaining 35 bodies will be disposed of. Only those bodies will be retained back where PM / investigations are to be carried out.
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