Tense moments were witnessed in Arepalli Rangampet village of Chandragiri mandal in Chittoor district on Friday over the move to bury the body of a person who died of Covid-19 in Tirupati. As a preventive measure, a huge posse of policemen was mobilised to defuse the tension.
The objection was apparently on two grounds, one on burying the body of a person locally, though he had died of the deadly virus in faraway Tirupati town. The scared residents made a fervent plea to the government to reconsider its decision in the likelihood of the decision causing widespread infection in the vicinity. Secondly, burial of the body close to the pump house could pollute the water bodies. They also pointed out that Kalyani dam, the reservoir carrying water to Tirupati, was dangerously close to the spot chosen by the officials.
It was on these twin grounds that the villagers blocked the route with chopped tree logs and thorny shrubs. Tractor trailers were also parked on the middle of the road to prevent the ambulance carrying the dead body from crossing over into the village. As the issue had the potential to escalate into local versus non-local issue, officials got down to action and reached the spot. The staff tried to convince the villagers that they were only following the rules laid down in the Covid protocol and acting as per the instructions of the district authorities.
