This story is from May 12, 2021

Bihar government blames UP for bodies floating in 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.
Bihar government blames UP for bodies floating in Buxar
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. (TOI PHOTO)
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.
Patna/Buxar: A day after bloated and decomposed human bodies were found floating on the banks of river Ganga at Chausa in Buxar district, Bihar government claimed that altogether 71 bodies have been recovered from the river and all had floated downstream from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
In a series of tweets posted on Tuesday, state water resources minister Sanjay Kumar Jha claimed that the bodies were four to five days old and their last rites were performed as per protocols.
"The Bihar government is seized of the matter of unfortunate case of floating mortal remains in river Ganga, near Chausa village in Buxar district. The bodies have floated into Bihar from UP. Upon postmortem, our doctors have confirmed that these are 4-5 days' old bodies," Jha tweeted.
Jha, who is a close aide of chief minister Nitish Kumar, further tweeted: "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 administration to intensify patrolling to ensure this is not repeated."
He added: "Last rites of 71 bodies performed as per protocols. A net has been placed in Ganges in Ranighat, bordering UP and Bihar. We've advised UP (Uttar Pradesh) administration to be vigilant; our district admin is keeping vigil too. Advise all to give all respect to those dead, and Maa Ganges (sic)."
Meanwhile, a blame- game seem to have erupted between the officials in Bihar and UP over the bodies floating in the river. Buxar district magistrate (DM) Aman Samir has denied that the dead bodies were of Buxar and claimed that they were washed up downstream in the river from neighbouring Ghazipur district in UP. However, Ghazipur DM denied that the bodies floated from his district.
"As the bodies have been found there (Buxar), thus they would better know about their origin. We are conducting regular patrolling and investigation will also be conducted," Ghazipur DM Mangla Prasad Singh told a reporter at Buxar over phone.
He added that over a dozen bodies were being carried out from Bhabhua on Monday night, which was stopped by Ghazipur district administration.
Meanwhile, Buxar district administration could not ascertain cause of death in the post-mortem of the 71 bodies recovered from the river bank so far. Also, nets were put in the river to trap more bodies, if any.
"The work of taking out bodies from the river and carrying out post- mortem went on the entire night. Post- mortem was conducted on altogether 71 bodies but reason of death could not be ascertained as the bodies were highly decomposed. Nevertheless, DNA samples of some bodies have been preserved for future residences," Buxar DM Aman said in a statement.
Earlier, panic prevailed in the area on Monday morning after more than 30 decomposed bodies were seen floating on the bank of the river, especially at Mahadeva Ghat at Chausa. Though Buxar district administration has claimed that the bodies floated down the river from Uttar Pradesh but locals claimed many people in villages mostly in Ghazipur and some in Buxar as well dispose the bodies in the river out of taboo. Some also attributed it to high cost of cremation or funeral pyres and the bodies were of people who succumbed to Covid-19.
Buxar DM Aman said on Tuesday that adequate arrangements of pyre woods have been made at the ghats in Chausa, where six to eight bodies were being cremated daily. The DM also instructed all block development officers (BDOs), circle officers (COs) and SHOs of the district to keep strict vigil at the ghats and ensure that no one immersed bodies in the river.
PATCH: Union minister appeals for probe:
Union minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat termed the incident "unfortunate and a matter of probe."
In a tweet posted on Tuesday morning, Shekhawat tagged Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath and appealed for 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 (Narendra Modi) government is committed to the cleanliness 'mother' Ganga. This incident is unexpected. The states concerned should take immediate cognizance of this incident," Shekhawat tweeted.
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