Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, July 2: As safety measures prevent families from taking charge of the funerals of COVID-19 positive persons, a group of volunteers have joined hands to help the distraught families to bid a respectful adieu to their kin by making funeral arrangements.
Around thirty volunteers from different fields are committed partners on the final journey of the people who died due to the deadly COVID 19. From funeral prayers to burying the victims these angles of mercy make sure that the body of the victim receives a dignified treatment on their last journey.
The group was founded by a 38-year old man, Sajad Ahmad Khan. He is the only known face of this group while as others are working with secrecy to avoid a possible backlash from the community or family.
He has formed the group to remove the stigma regarding the body of the victims. “People still believe the dead can spread the infection while as WHO has clearly said that a body cannot spread the virus. But people still disrespect the bodies out of the fear,” he says.
He runs grocery store in Srinagar’s Bemina area and uses all the earnings for the cause. “I use all my earnings these days to meet the expenses of the group. I even prepare PPEs kits myself,” he says.
He felt the need for such type of group after witnessing the treatment of COVID 19 victim in his locality on 21th May. “Apart from the medical team, no-one was there to bury him. Even his family members were looking from a distance,” he says.
He immediately rushed to his shop and grabbed some PPE suits and handed them over to the family members. “The family members wore the suits and participated in the funeral. The family thanked me afterward with teary eyes. I felt immensely satisfied,” he says.
That night he could not sleep as the scenes of the victim being buried in an empty corner of the graveyard kept him awake. “Why was not he buried near other graves? Did they fear for their dead as well? This disturbed me inside and I started this,” he says.
His members participated in the funerals of all the victims who died in the Srinagar. “Normally the family members are under quarantine and unable to participate. We become their families. We are doing this for humanity, let everyone come together in these dark times,” he says.
One of the members, who has placed himself under self-isolation, says that he is doing the services for the sake of humanity.
He explains that each member has to undergo quarantine after the funeral. “We take all precautionary measures to save ourselves and the people around us,” he said.
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