Family transports body on bicycle in Belagavi

Belagavi (Karnataka): With no one reportedly coming to their aid due to the COVID-19 scare, a family was forced to transport a body on a bicycle amid heavy rains at a village in Belagavi district on Sunday. As the video of the incident went viral, the Congress state unit flayed the government for its "apathy" to provide an ambulance to transport the body.

Sharing the video on Twitter, Congress state chief D K Shivakumar wrote, "Relatives of a 70-year-old person who died in Kittur, Belagavi had to carry the body for cremation on a bicycle in heavy rains." Questioning the government, he said "CM B S Yediyurappa, where is your government? Why was an ambulance not provided? ..... Govt lacks humanity & has been a total failure in handling the pandemic."

According to the family members, the man had fever for two days and the medical team at the local primary health care advised the family to admit him to hospital as he was showing coronavirus symptoms.

As the family prepared to take him to hospital, he died. The family said they had dialled the emergency number for an ambulance but there was no response. The neighbours too did not come to their aid due to COVID-19 scare,they claimed.

Finally, the family decided to carry the body on a bicycle amid rains and took it to the cremation ground for the last rites. Government and hospital officials were not immediately available for comment.