Bihar govt blames Uttar Pradesh for bodies washing ashore in Buxar

PATNA/BUXAR: A day after scores of decomposed bodies floating in the Ganga at Chausa village in Buxar sparked an alarm, the Bihar government on Tuesday claimed that the 71 bodies recovered had floated downstream from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
In a series of tweets posted on Tuesday, the Bihar water resources minister, Sanjay Kumar Jha, claimed that the bodies were four to five days old.

"The Bihar government is seized of the matter of the unfortunate case of floating mortal remains in river Ganga, near Chausa village in Buxar district. The bodies have floated into Bihar from UP. Autopsies done by our doctors have confirmed that these are 4-5 days old," Jha tweeted.
He added, "The last rites of 71 bodies performed as per Covid protocol. A net has been placed on the river at Ranighat, bordering UP and Bihar. We've advised the UP administration to be vigilant; our district admin is keeping vigil too. Advise all to give all respect to those dead, and Maa Ganges (sic)."

In another tweet, Jha, a close aide of chief minister Nitish Kumar, posted, "Honourable CM Nitish Kumar is pained at both the tragedy as well as harm to the river Ganges. He has always been particular about the purity and uninterrupted flow of the river and has asked the administration to intensify patrolling."

Meanwhile, a blame game has erupted between Bihar and UP officials over the bodies floating in the river. Buxar DM Aman Samir has denied that the dead bodies were from Buxar and claimed that they washed up downstream from neighbouring Ghazipur district in UP. However, Ghazipur DM denied that the bodies were from his jurisdiction.
"As the bodies were found there (Buxar), they would know better about their origin. We are conducting regular patrolling and investigation will also be conducted," Ghazipur DM Mangla Prasad Singh said.
Meanwhile, the Buxar district administration could not ascertain the cause of death in the post-mortem of the 71 bodies recovered from the river so far.
"The work of fishing out bodies from the river and carrying out the post-mortem went on throughout the night. The autopsies could not ascertain the reason for death as the bodies got highly decomposed. Nevertheless, DNA samples of some of the bodies have been preserved for further investigation," Buxar DM Aman said in a statement.
The Buxar DM said adequate arrangements of wood for funeral pyres have been made at the ghats in Chausa where six to eight bodies are cremated daily. The DM also instructed all BDOs, circle officers and SHOs of the district to keep a strict vigil at the ghats and ensure that no one dumps bodies in the river.
Patch
Union minister appeals for probe
Union minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat termed the bodies floating in the river at Buxar as "unfortunate and a matter for probe".
In a tweet posted on Tuesday morning, Shekhawat tagged Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath and appealed to take immediate cognizance of the matter.
"The incident of corpses found floating in Ganga in Buxar is unfortunate. It is definitely a matter of investigation. The Modi government is committed to the cleanliness of 'mother' Ganga. This incident is unexpected. The states concerned should take immediate cognizance of this incident," Shekhawat tweeted.