BMC Withdraws 'Only Cremation' Circular For Dead Bodies Of Coronavirus Patients

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has withdrawn its circular stating that all bodies of coronavirus patients will be cremated irrespective of the religion of the deceased. The information was shared by Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik on micro-blogging site twitter. Malik said that the circular issued by the BMC has now been withdrawn.

“This is to bring to your kind attention that I have spoken to @mybmc Commissioner Mr. Praveen Pardeshi regarding the circular issued by him for the cremation of those who have lost their lives due to the #CoronaVirus. The said circular has now been withdrawn (sic)," he tweeted.

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This is to bring to your kind attention that I have spoken to @mybmc Commissioner Mr. Praveen Pardeshi regarding the circular issued by him for cremation of those who have lost their lives due to the #CoronaVirus.
The said circular has now been withdrawn.

— Nawab Malik نواب ملک नवाब मलिक (@nawabmalikncp) March 30, 2020

Earlier, BMC announced that bodies of all those who died due to COVID-19 in Mumbai will be cremated irrespective of the religion of the deceased. According to a circular issued by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Praveen Pardeshi, only five persons can attend the funeral of a COVID-19 patient and rituals of touching the body should be avoided.

“All bodies of COVID-19 patients should be cremated irrespective of religion. Burial will not be allowed. The funeral should not involve more than 5 people,” Pardeshi said. He said that if someone insists to bury the body, then it needs to be done out of Mumbai city. “If someone insists to bury the body, they will only be permitted if the body is taken out of Mumbai city's jurisdiction,” the BMC commissioner said.

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Maharashtra, known as the financial capital of India, is going to be the worst-hit among states in economic term due to the coronavirus -induced lockdown. Most of the manufacturing units have completely stopped their activities due to the lockdown, water resources minister Jayant Patil said on Monday.