KADAPA: Tension prevailed in Adavuru of Kadapa district on Monday after locals objected to the cremation of a Covid-19 victim fearing that it might contaminate a nearby water body and spread the virus in the village. The victim was later cremated in a forest four kilometers away from Adavuru.
According to information reaching here, the victim, a 50-year-old woman from Adavuru, had been staying with her family in Pune, Maharashtra for some time. She was suffering from cancer and died on Sunday while undergoing treatment. She had also tested positive for coronavirus in swab sample tests.
The woman’s family members informed their relatives in the village that they would be bringing the body to the village in a private ambulance and, so, asked the latter to make arrangements for the last rites on the banks of rivulet Cheyyeti, in the outskirts of the village.
Earlier, the woman was being brought to AP in an ambulance when she was still alive. Upon reaching the AP border in Kurnool, Maharashtra officials observed that she had died, and asked their counterparts in Kadapa and the local police to make arrangements for the cremation as per the protocol.
Upon coming to know of the officials’ plans to perform the last rites of the victim in Adavuru, the locals gathered in large numbers and staged a protest demanding that the victim be cremated someplace else. They feared that conducting the last rites of the victim near the rivulet might lead to the contamination of the water, which is used for drinking purpose.
Police and revenue officials rushed to the village and tried to pacify the villagers. Later, the woman’s body was shifted to a forest area four kilometres away from the village where the last rites were performed. Medical teams conducted tests on the family of the victim and their results are awaited.
Woman dies of heart stroke after being asked to undergo test
Kurnool: A 52-year-old woman died of a heart stroke allegedly after a ward volunteer forced her family to get tested for coronavirus. The deceased was identified as a resident of Adoni town. Later, the woman’s kin assaulted the volunteer’s husband who had accompanied her. Police and municipal officials rushed to the spot and took the situation under control. According to sources, another resident of the colony had tested positive for the virus. As per the guidelines, the official had engaged a ward volunteer for contact tracing. While the deceased’s neighbours had gone to the hospital to get themselves checked, she and her family, however, were reportedly not keen on seeing a doctor. Adoni civic chief Subba Rao told TNIE that the woman was a patient of blood pressure and also suffering from a heart ailment.