COVID-19 Doctors Denied Burial; VP Venkaiah Naidu ‘Deeply Disturbed’

Created: Apr 18, 2020, 14:17 IST | Updated: Apr 18, 2020, 18:57 IST

NEW DELHI: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said he was "deeply disturbed" by news reports that people in Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu had opposed funerals of doctors who died of COVID-19 fearing the disease might spread. He called the incident "a blot on the society's consciousness".

On micro-blogging site Twitter, Venkaiah Naidu, citing a newspaper report, said there was a delay of 36 hours in the funeral of the Meghalaya doctor.

"Such incidents are a blot on the society's consciousness and of great concern for all of us, irrespective of party, religion and region," he wrote, adding that the "unfortunate behaviour" from the locals forced Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to finally intervene in the matter and help resolve it.

Read the Twitter thread here:

Deeply disturbed by a news item in today’s “The Indian Express” over a 36-hour delay to find a resting place to the dead body of a 69-year-old popular Meghalaya doctor following strong resistance from the local people.https://t.co/cM7CuLNtC4

— Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) April 17, 2020

The vice-president also said that he was distressed by a similar incident in Chennai, where a doctor from Nellore could not be buried as locals resisted.

Read the thread here:

Further distressed to know about a similar incident in Chennai, where the locals resisted cremation of a doctor hailing from Nellore following his death in a city hospital.

— Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) April 17, 2020

He said that doctors and the medical fraternity are risking their lives to save us during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the country needs to respect them and lend support.

The vice president has shared his concerns on the issue with the home secretary and the director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Also Read: COVID-19 India Updates | 14,378 Cases, 480 Deaths, 1,992 Recovered