Bodies dumped in Ganga during second COVID wave  |  Photo Credit: PTI
New Delhi: The Centre on Monday said that it has no data on the number of bodies of COVID-19 victims that were dumped in the Ganga river during the deadly second wave of the pandemic.
The response came after TMC MP Derek O’ Brien asked Minister of Jal Shakti to state the number of COVID-19 related bodies estimated to have been dumped in Ganga.
The TMC leader also asked as to what measures have been taken to remove these and dispose off them as per COVID-19 protocols.
The statement is expected to evoke sharp reactions from the opposition, months after the Centre’s remarks in Parliament that they had “no data on deaths due to oxygen shortage” during the second COVID wave, triggered criticism.
During the second wave of COVID in April-May last year, several bodies, suspected to be of COVID-19 patients, were found floating in the Ganga, sparking a political row.
Earlier, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) had asked a detailed report from the Uttar Pradesh government.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had earlier demanded a judicial probe headed by High Court judge into it, saying what is happening is inhuman and criminal.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had also said the UP government must be held accountable for “failing” its people badly.
“Bodies found floating in the Ganga are not statistics, they’re someone’s father, mother, brother and sister. What has transpired shakes you to your core,” he had said.