Sense of dread prevails despite dip in bodies

Antim Niwas cremation ground in Noida to get new CNG station to deal with unabated rush of bodies

Most pyres burnt unattended except the odd one or two, being videographed by PPE-clad men capturing the last rites of their kin to later share the moment with the rest of their bereaved family back home, a priest shouting instructions from afar. On the other side, smoke billowing non-stop from a chimney pipe towering above the sole CNG cremation station as a hearse carrying the body of another COVID patient pulls to a stop outside it followed by the arrival of another being carried on a byre resting on two pairs of family members’ shoulders. ‘Antim Niwas’, the only facility reserved for cremation of COVID-19 patients from the district located in Noida’s Sector 94, was less crowded on Saturday compared to the same day the previous week.