NEW DELHI—In just about two weeks as the COVID-19 pandemic surged to record-breaking levels in India, a crematorium in Sare Kale Khan on the outskirts of the country’s national capital region built 125 new pyre platforms, including 75 under construction on May 4.
The Epoch Times visited the crematorium on Tuesday and noticed that both the green lawns outside the old crematorium have been speedily converted into an additional facility to manage the demand. Outside the main premises on the side of the dusty, unconstructed road, 75 new pyre platforms are currently under construction.
Funeral pyres under construction at a crematorium at Sare Kale Khan outside New Delhi on May 4, 2021.
On May 4 New Delhi saw its biggest spike of deaths, with 448 reported in the last 24 hours, while the country saw 357,229 new COVID cases in the same period. The three civic bodies of Delhi working to meet the surge in deaths are operating 28 COVID cremation and burial sites and have increased the COVID cremation capacity to 1,060 daily, according to the Times of India.
Inside the newly built crematoriums on the lawns of Sare Kale Khan, remnants of the last day cremations were visible while new pyres were being laid. A slew of cremation workers ferried wood on carts while people chanted mantras as they lit the pyres of their loved ones.
Funeral pyres at a crematorium at Sare Kale Khan outside New Delhi on May 4, 2021.
The Epoch Times captured a few pandemic profiles from the crematorium.
Father of a Leading Executive
Gazetted Officer of India’s National Informatics Center
Father of a Foreign Policy Journalist
Immersing Ashes in Yamuna River
Venus Upadhayaya
Reporter
Venus Upadhayaya reports on India, China, and the Global South. Her traditional area of expertise is in Indian and South Asian geopolitics. Community media, sustainable development, and leadership remain her other areas of interest.