Haryana employee tasked to cremate Covid-19 victims, succumbs to virus

Chandigarh, May 19 (IANS) An employee of the Municipal Corporation in Haryana's Hisar town, who performed the last rites of Covid-19 patients, succumbed to the virus this week.Praveen Kumar, 43, was President of the Safai Karamchari Union. Despite being vaccinated against the virus, he tested positive for Covid on Saturday and admitted to a hospital with low oxygen saturation.He is survived by his wife and two sons."There was a delay in getting him admitted owing to lack of availability of bed in a government hospital," his colleague Rajesh Bagri told the media."He was finally admitted to a private hospital. The delay was responsible for taking his life," he claimed.A municipal corporation official said Kumar, who was part of one of the five teams constituted by the district administration to cremate bodies, was associated with the first team. In the last one year, the teams collectively cremated over 300 Covid bodies.Kumar was cremated in Rishi Nagar in Hisar on Tuesday.
--IANS vg/vd