Need To Address The Issue Of Black Fungus & To Increase Electric Cremation Capacity In Uttar Pradesh: Plea Moved Before Allahabad High Court

An Intervention Application has been moved before the Allahabad High Court in the COVID Management matter wherein the High Court is taking stock of the surge in COVID-19 cases in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The application submits that The response of the State, as well as preparedness, in connection with the COVID pandemic, is not up to the mark, and it appears that the true picture is not being presented to the authorities at the highest level.

The plea avers,

"At a time when the country scrambles to gather oxygen and other necessary medication for its Covid-19 patients, many of whom have even died because of its shortage. Unfortunately, those entrusted with the executive duty under the constitution have failed to respond adequately making it imperative for constitutional courts to intervene."

The issue of Black Fungus

Further, stressing that an issue which needs to be addressed while preparing for the "third wave" is the spread of "Black Fungus" or "Mucormycosis", the plea submits:

"A detailed SOP for prescription and use of drugs to treat Black Fungus is issued by the State Government and some steps must be taken by the Government for bringing down the prices of drugs to an affordable level."

The plea also suggests that it would be appropriate if the Central Government regulates the production and distribution of these drugs across India so that there may not be a shortage of these drugs in the future.

Lastly, the plea avers that an order is necessitated to be passed by the Court addressing the prevailing issue of 'Black Fungus' or 'Mucormycosis' and necessary directions must be passed to the State Government in order to control the situation and havoc created by the disease.

The Issue of lack of regulated and proper cremation/burial facilities

The plea has submitted that there have been several recent news reports related to the issue of dead bodies of suspected Covid victims found floating in the River Ganges, which certainly reflect the lack of regulated and proper cremation and burial facilities in the State.

Stressing that 'Right to Receive Respectful Cremation is a basic human right and is also recognized under Article 21 and the same has been affirmed by theSupreme Court in a plethora of judgments, the plea avers,

"Hundreds of corpses have been found floating in the river or buried in the sand of its banks, thus, portraying the denial of proper cremation/facilities to the deceased. The bodies on the river banks, taken together with funeral pyres burning round-the-clock and cremation grounds running out of space, tell the story of a death toll unseen and unacknowledged in official data."

In this backdrop, the plea submits that further steps must be taken to regulate and increase the capacity of electric cremation/furnaces which can be used as a sustainable alternative for cremation/burial facility without causing much damage to the environment.

Further, the plea states that there have been reports which show that how these electric crematoriums are over-burdened or in shortage and need to be revamped in order to cater to the unprecedented requirement in the State.