Cop. A trust. An NGO: When even family wont, they give dignity to dead

As bodies of COVID19 patients continue piling up and are leaving frontline workers tasked with disposing of them exhausted the Mumbai Juma Masjid Trust of the Bada Kabristan in Marine Lines has been helping with the funerals of everyone killed by the virus irrespective of faith Like the trust other citizens too have stepped up to help families and government machinery dealing with the lossesThe trust had been burying Muslims bodies free of cost But after seeing an increasing number of Hindu dead it has decided to help with cremations too The trust has seven members Sohaib Khatib president Juma Masjid Trust Bombay Iqbal Mamdani former journalist Sabir Nirban builder and developer advocates Irfan Shaikh Sohail Saz Salim Parekh Rafiq Soratiya and more than 70 volunteers In the past two months the trust has cremated over 200 Hindu deadA member of Mumbai Juma Masjid Trust pays a priest after a cremationNot cremating corpses at the earliest is a disrespect to the dead We had been disposing of Muslims bodies at different kabristans in Mumbai said Iqbal Mamdani a former journalist who has been helping the trust in the suburbsIn a bid to lessen the burden on morgues we have till date cremated over 200 bodies of Hindus at different crematoriums in Mumbai People should spread brotherhood instead of focusing on communal hatred he addedConstable Subhash Shinde helps with a cremationOn Monday the trust created a 13yearold girls mother who died of COVID19 at Cooper Hospital The woman was a footpath dweller in Andheri and she used to work as a housekeeping staff She fell sick but she had no access to a hospital So we intervened and got her admitted to RN Cooper Hospital but she died said Maruf Khan a housekeeping manager with whom the woman worked While doing rounds of various hospitals he spotted the womans daughter on Monday and got to know of the deathWe took the womans body to Oshiwara crematorium where she was cremated as per Hindu rituals The woman had said that if she dies her daughter be handed over to Khan so the child is in the safe hands of Khan who has promised her to give food shelter education etc said Sadiq NaikwadiThe ambulance run by Mumbai Juma Masjid Trust to transport bodiesWe have also cremated bodies of hundreds of people whose relatives did not want to even set fire to the funeral pyre The relatives of a few of the dead were helpless as they could not travel in the lockdown We have also buried many Catholics in various cemeteries Naikwadi addedCant see people sufferingA 33yearold police constable Subhash Shinde attached to Virar police station in Palghar has cremated over 100 unclaimed bodies He also cremated two people whose relatives could not arrive from other cities amid the lockdownA trust member hands the 13yearold girl her mothers ashesI cannot see someone suffering While posted in the MiraBhayandar division I helped perform the last rites of people whose relatives had financial constraints I spend for the funerals from my own pocket said ShindeOne such Virar resident Pramod Khare 42 who hailed from Delhi died of a heart ailment in the first week of May Shinde ensured that Khares relatives in Delhi and Kolkata could see the funeral on video In Hinduism it is said that attending a funeral rids a person of their sins Maybe this is Gods way of helping me get rid of my sins said Shinde In the last week of May Shinde cremated an unidentified man found dead on the streetsSohel Rizvi who runs the Bablu Bata Foundation BBF has helped cremate bodies of over 40 COVID19 patients irrespective of religionNGO lends a helping handFrom helping relatives claim the body from the hospital to performing the funeral we have stood with people said Rizvi BBF has also helped sanitise such peoples houses BBF started with sanitisation of wards buildings and areas that had COVID19 patients The NGO then noticed the difficulties families were facing when their relatives died and started approaching them to help with the formalities and tasks such as arranging an ambulance coordinating with BMC and the crematorium staff200No of bodies of Hindus the trust has helped cremate so farCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news