Bengaluru’s biggest site for mass cremation, which saw the last rites of 1,708 people in nearly two months, was shut down on Thursday as Covid-19 cases came down in recent weeks after the second wave in April and May.
According to a report in Times of India, the four-acre temporary facility was opened on April 25. On May 7, a staggering 84 people were cremated in a mass pyre.
“Because of the rising number of deaths, the burial ground in Kurubarahalli village in Channenahalli gram panchayat was converted into a mass site with iron beds for the pyres. On the first day, April 25, 16 Covid victims were cremated,” an official in charge of the crematorium was quoted as saying by the newspaper. Kurubarahalli, where 41 pyres could be lit at a time, was the biggest of the three new sites. More than 30 contract staffers of BBMP were deployed here.
“As Covid cases started to fall in Bengaluru in June, only a few bodies were brought to the crematorium. On Wednesday, there was only one body. Considering all this, we decided to close the temporary site as other facilities can handle bodies now,” the official added.
Meanwhile, Karnataka on Saturday reported 4,272 fresh COVID-19 cases and 115 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 28,31,026 and the toll to 34,654. The day also saw 6,126 discharges, continuing to outnumber fresh cases, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 26,91,123.
Bengaluru Urban accounted for 955 cases, as the city saw 1,174 discharges and 16 deaths. The total number of active cases in the state stood at 1,05,226.
While the positivity rate was 2.58 per cent, the Case Fatality Rate was at 2.69 per cent. Mysuru accounted for 22 deaths, Dakshina Kannada (14), Belagavi (10), followed by others.
Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 955, Mysuru 647, Hassan 320, Chikkamagaluru 200, followed by others. Bengaluru Urban district topped the list of positive cases, with a total of 12,10,642, followed by Mysuru 1,65,032 and Tumakuru 1,14,504.
Among discharges too, Bengaluru Urban was on top with 11,29,074, followed by Mysuru 1,58,052 and Tumakuru 1,11,475. Cumulatively a total of 3,36,73,392 samples have been tested in the state so far, out of which 1,65,010 were done on Saturday.
(With inputs from PTI)
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