The Bishnupur district magistrate on Tuesday announced that the expenses incurred in disposal or cremation of the unclaimed dead bodies due to COVID-19 as per relevant extant provisions in respect of Bishnupur district will be borne by the district administration with immediate effect.
A significant amount of expenditure is incurred by the family members of the deceased in disposal or cremation of the unclaimed dead bodies at Bazar Board Crematorium Site located at Minuthong, Imphal East, stated the order issued by district magistrate Bishnupur Krishna Kumar.
Deaths due to COVID-19 have caused enormous hardship in all aspects of the surviving family members and hence, the necessity to bear the expenses incurred in the disposal of the COVID-19 dead bodies by the government has been felt, it mentioned.
The Directorate of Health Services, Manipur has issued a memorandum on December 1, 2020 wherein it is stated inter alia that cremation/burial related expenses of all unclaimed COVID-19 positive cases will be borne by the Health department and the disposal to be done by the district administration, it stated.
The order mentioned that the disposal of dead bodies of COVID-19 patients in the district had been done after issuance of a disposal order by the office of the district magistrate after obtaining relevant documents from the hospital/health facility concerned as well as the deceased's family members. Considering all facts and circumstances, the order was issued, it added.
