Gujarat: With communal harmony, they ensure Covid-19 victims get dignity in death

VADODARA: Humanity often thrives in tragedy and Covid-19 is no exception. When the deaths due to Covid-19 started rising and it was becoming difficult for administration to handle the bodies, members of the minority community in Godhra and Vadodara took the onus on them and ensured that the last rites are performed in a dignified manner irrespective of their religion.
While the label of being ‘Ground Zero’ of 2002 Gujarat riots has stuck to Godhra and Vadodara earning a notorious reputation of witnessing frequent communal flareups, a large group of volunteers and activists from the two cities, though not connected to each other, were kept busy making trips to graveyards or crematoriums.
Work for Hanif Haji, an activist and a former corporator in Godhra, began even before Covid-19. “We had taken up the work of ensuring burials during the lockdown as people were finding it difficult to conduct these due to the strict restrictions. We started helping them and later health officials approached us for burials and cremations of bodies of Covid-19 bodies too,” said Haji.
Haji and three of his friends have so far performed last rites of around 300 persons including Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
In Vadodara, Baroda Muslim Doctors Association (BMDA) and other activists started work when the mortality became high. Patients from the Vadodara city and district, neighbouring districts as well as outside the state had died in the city. Suspected Covid-19 deaths too had to be handled with the same protocol as Covid-19 cases.
“We were initially approached only to provide medicines, but later took up the task of performing last rites too. A group was formed and we used to rush to carry bodies to crematoriums and graveyards or perform last rites too,” said Zuber Gopalani who is coordinating between the BMDA and the administration.
The group ensured that irrespective of religion, those who died in Covid hospitals got a dignified burial or cremation. “We had three teams of eight people each. The association has a fleet of eight ambulances and these were used to carry bodies whenever needed,” said Gopalani.
On a couple of occasions, the group had to handle bodies of persons who had died at home. Whenever needed, the association also ensured that family members also got protective gear.