Stray dogs have been seen eating charred human remains washed up on the banks of an Indian river as the Covid ravaged country struggles with the death toll.
India has been fighting a devastating third wave of coronavirus and although the number of cases is starting to decline, the country faces an increasing daily death toll for weeks to come.
Residents of Uttarkashi in Uttrakhand, India now claim to have seen the animals eating human flesh, some of it half-burnt after drifting onto the banks of the river Bhagirathi, with crematoriums struggling with the strain of the pandemic.
One local resident said he was painting by the river on Monday when he saw the dogs “gnawing and feeding on” the dead.
(Image: Newsflash)
The man described the sight to NDTV as the “death of humanity” in a plea to the local government to address the piling up of corpses.
Locals are also worried that coronavirus may spread further through the water supply or through the dogs that are consuming victims of the disease.
Municipality president Ramesh Semwal was reported to have said that after receiving complaints, officials had assigned a person to cremate the half-burnt bodies, which had washed up on the riverbank.
“During the last few days, the number of deaths has been increased in our area. I also came to know that bodies are not burnt properly so I have directed the administration to arrange at Kedar Ghat for the cremation of half-burnt bodies,” said Ramesh.
There was a similar instance of suspected coronavirus victims washing up on the banks of the River Ganges in the northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh last month.
Footage also emerged yesterday which showed relatives wearing full PPE dumping a body into the Rapti River in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh.
Authorities believe that families of the dead may have been unable to find space to cremate their loved ones or not been able to afford the last rites.
It comes after the country reported its lowest daily rise in new coronavirus infections in over a month on Tuesday, at 127,510, while deaths rose by 2,795 – its lowest daily increase since April 27.