No family member of a 60-year-old man who died of coronavirus on Monday in Greater Noida could be present at his funeral, while his wife, also a COVID-19 patient, watched the last rites over a video call from hospital.
Multiple sources said the couple's daughter was stuck in Gujarat, while some relatives in Varanasi expressed inability to travel to Gautam Buddh Nagar, near Delhi, in western Uttar Pradesh for the rites.
Also nobody from the man's neighbourhood in Noida Sector 19 came forward to shoulder the responsibility, they said.
"There was also no support from the district administration or the district health department after which the private hospital where the man was admitted stepped forward and the cremation was held at the CNG crematorium in Noida Sector 94 on Tuesday evening," a source told PTI.
"It was understandable that his daughter was in Gujarat and relatives in Varanasi so they could not come here immediately due to the lockdown. But the lack of support from the government officials was shocking and irresponsible," the source added.
There was no response from District Magistrate Suhas L Y and Chief Medical Officer to PTI's query on the matter. The magistrate, however, was present outside the crematorium on Tuesday evening, according to a photograph and a statement issued by the district information department.
The officials of Sharda Hospital, a dedicated COVID-19 facility, had got a letter of consent from the daughter of the deceased so that the cremation could be done after alleged "dilly-dallying" by the district administration.
"The administration officials had denied any responsibility for the last rites. They said they would have to declare the body 'laawaaris' (unclaimed) if the administration were to handle the funeral as per its protocol and the process would take up to 72 hours," the source claimed.
The man's wife, 59, watched the last rites on a video call, according to the source.
When contacted, Sharda Hospital spokesperson Ajit Kumar told PTI: "The hospital has been getting full support of the administration, the CMO and the Greater Noida Authority."
"The man died on Monday night of cardiac arrest caused by acute respiratory syndrome," District Surveillance Officer Sunil Dohare had said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to sources, the man had complained of cough on Monday afternoon after which he was given an injection around 4 pm. Seeing no improvement in his condition, he was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) around 5.30 pm, and later moved on ventilator support as his blood pressure dropped.
He suffered the cardiac arrest at 9 pm and passed away around 50 minutes later, the sources said.
So far three men, two of them aged 60 and one 62, have died due to coronavirus in Gautam Buddh Nagar, even as the district recorded 436 positive cases of COVID-19 till Wednesday, according to official figures.
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