Chennai: A day after protests against the burial of a city-absed neurosurgeon who died due to coronavirus, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) today appealed to the people to cooperate with the authorities to ensure a dignified burial or cremation of the coronavirus infected people.
In an appeal to the public in the backdrop of protests by local people at Ambattur and at Kilpauk/Annanagar in the city against the cremation/burial of two corona positive tested doctors–a Nellore based doctor and a neurosurgeon–the GCC said it was fighting the COVID-19 pandemic on a warfooting.
Allaying the fears of the public that virus would spread due to burial/cremation of the COVID tested patients, the GCC said it was unfortunate to come across few events like obstruction of the burial/cremation of the deceased in some places.
“The GCC hereby clarifies to the public that the bodies of the deceased are handled safely as per set protocols”.
“Both deep burial and cremation are approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Indian and the Tamilnadu Governments and there is absolutely no spread of the infection in the neighbourhood”, the GCC said, adding, “therefore, the public need not fear or panic regarding such burial or cremation of the deceased”.
“We request all to cooperate with us to enure dignified burial or cremation of the deceased”, it said.
It may be recalled that locals thronged the Ambattur crematorium last week in protest against the burial of the Nellore-based doctor following which it was cremated in another crematorium with police protection.
In another incident yesterday, locals, while protesting against the burial of a neurosuregon, who died in a private hospital on Sunday, attacked the healthcare workers with wooden logs and sticks, resulting in head injuuries to them and also damaged the ambulance in which body was taken for burial.