COVID-19: Frontline warriors that nobody cares about

The team with an unclaimed body at Bada Qabrastan in Marine Lines. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Have never seen such horrifying scenes, mortuaries are getting filled with bodies and crematorium and burial grounds have bodies in the waitlist. We have to wait between two and ten hours with unclaimed bodies as the first preference is given to claimed COVID cases," say Manoj Valmiki, 28, and his colleague Sunil Sharma, 22, giving an account of the grim situation that the city is faced with. Barely with any protection, the two have been carrying out the last rites of unclaimed and unidentified bodies to make ends meet. "If we do not do this job, no one else will do," said the frontline warriors that nobody cares about.

Manoj Valmiki and Sunil Sharma along with police Naik D P Ware have been lifting unclaimed unidentified bodies from the city

As the second wave of the pandemic claims too many lives, it has reignited the debate for human equality in India, especially over the handling of unclaimed and unidentified bodies.

Rules say PPE is a must for frontline health workers, who are exposed to dangerous germs, but Manoj and Sunil don't have access to the gear. A pair of gloves, at times torn, is their only shield against decomposed bodies.

The duo reports to Police Naik D P Ware, who is attached to the Motor Transport Department, Nagpada, and drives police hearse (MH-04-AN-3782). Ware is fighting a life-threatening disease and has diabetes and high blood pressure. He has been ferrying unclaimed bodies to cremation and burial grounds since 2001. The police personnel of the 1995 batch is awaiting his promotion as hawaldar for the last few years as his juniors have already got promoted.

"We collect unclaimed bodies from St Georges, GT, JJ, KEM, Nair, Sion hospital mortuaries and dispose of them as per the religion of the deceased. My father Naresh did this job and died at 49. Even my grandfather Makan used to dispose of unclaimed bodies and he too died early," said Manoj, who earns Rs 29,000 a month and is the only breadwinner for his family of six and also funds his younger brother's education. The Class IV servant got married last year but cannot afford to get his wife to the city as he has no place to stay.

But for Sunil, the only income is through the Rs 200 that is paid to him by Ware, who gets a few hundred rupees from sub inspectors who maintain a record of unclaimed bodies found in their jurisdiction. Ware also spends about Rs 100 on white cloth to wrap a body.

The two have no medical insurance or any other protection for their family.

They spend several hours a day in the police hearse amid unbearable smell. "We are used to the stench from decomposed bodies and now it doesn't affect us. We even sleep inside the hearse when ferries corpses from mortuaries for funerals," said Sunil.

Since the COVID outbreak, the local police have stopped shifting unidentified roadside bodies. "They inform Ware and we join him. We have no clue if the person died of COVID. Hours after a test is done at a civic or state-run hospital, do we know if we were exposed to the virus," said Manoj.

While Manoj says he buys a small pocket of hand sanitizer on his own, he is not given any safety kit or toiletries.

But unclaimed body lifters like Kanaiya Solanki, 38, and Rizwan, 30, could not even afford sanitiser. Solanki died a few months ago and Rizwan has stopped the work as he suffers from an autoimmune disease.

Asked if they would contract a life-threatening disease, Manoj said, "COVID or no COVID, the fact is we all have to die someday. But, it should never be that our body is tagged as unclaimed or unidentified."

Manoj said he worked for two days at the Sion crematorium that saw 82 bodies. On Monday, the police hearse picked 6 unclaimed bodies, three Muslim men and as many Hindu women, from JJ mortuary. When they came to Sion crematorium, they learnt that already 25 bodies had come since morning and 10 more of COVID victims were expected. Ware said, "We are told that we will have to wait till midnight to cremate the three Hindu women. It will be almost early morning when I will return home."

Ware added, "My family is under constant fear because of my health conditions. Even my wife is fighting a life-threatening ailment. Luckily, my children are spared. I have made it a practice to put all my clothes in the washing machine, take a shower before entering the house and having dinner. I usually return home post-midnight. I do not have a PPE kit nor the two workers [Manoj and Sunil]."

On their plight, police surgeon Dr S M Patil said, "I have already directed all mortuary staff to wear PPE kits and we have also supplied the same to the postmortem centers. The hamals are not our staffers, but had they asked for the same, our mortuary staff would have provided the PPE to them. It is observed that they do not like to wear it as working with PPEs becomes difficult for them."

But the lifters denied anyone ever talking to them about PPE kits. "They are reluctant to even give masks," they said.

Dr Subhash Hira, Professor of Global Health at the University of Washington-Seattle, said, "The entire aspect is neglected in Mumbai. Unclaimed bodies have a high risk of infections like TB, HIV/AIDS and antibiotic-resistant bugs. The neglected human service area can be corrected by an officer with an eye on human dignity."

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Average daily load at Sion crematorium last week