This story is from July 28, 2020

Of 471 Telangana deaths, 60% coronavirus burials at one graveyard alone

The Faqeer Mullah Kabristan, a Muslim graveyard located in the boulders on Hyderabad’s outskirts near Balapur Dargah, has seen the final rites of more than 60% of Covid-19 victims of Telangana.
Of 471 Telangana deaths, 60% coronavirus burials at one graveyard alone
Representative image
HYDERABAD: The Faqeer Mullah Kabristan, a Muslim graveyard located in the boulders on Hyderabad’s outskirts near Balapur Dargah, has seen the final rites of more than 60% of Covid-19 victims of Telangana.
The state officially reported 471 Covid-19 deaths till Monday. Of these, 291 were buried here from April 9 onwards till Monday. Almost all the victims were from the Greater Hyderabad area, with a small number coming from nearby districts.
This effectively means that only 180 Covid-19 victims have been buried or cremated in the rest of the state.
Habeeb Asif, in-charge of the graveyard, has been burying four to five virus victims daily on an average. “We accept bodies only with a police report and Aadhaar card details. Around 10 acres have been allotted for burying Covid-19 victims,” he says. “More than 270 victims are from Hyderabad, mostly from Golconda area and Old City. We also get bodies from Khammam, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda.”
Asif has photographed each Covid-19 grave and kept a record of the Aadhaar cards. “We are also maintaining a register of Covid-19 victims,” he adds. “The number of burials increased from June 15. Most of the victims are above 50 years.”
The Telangana high court had recently ordered the state government to test all those who died in the state for Covid-19. The state government had however moved the Supreme Court against the order and obtained a stay.
Telangana public health director Dr G Srinivasa Rao told TOI, “In Telangana, 750 to 800 people die every day in normal course. Around 1,200 births are also recorded. in normal circumstances, no one cares about these deaths. These days, more than 90% of people die in hospitals as they are admitted in a critical state while fighting a disease. This is a common phenomenon. We are reporting all Covid-19 deaths.”

When asked about high court order on testing bodies, Rao said, “It is humanly impossible to test the dead. The Supreme Court commented it was immature to suggest that the dead should be tested. No other state is doing this. Everyday 900 people die. We can't test all of them. We have to care about those who are alive. We are dealing with a pandemic, so I don't have figures currently.”
Sources in Telangana’s intelligence department said that when sleuths checked graveyards and crematoriums across the city, 39 Covid-19 victims were buried on July 23 and some of the places bodies were piled up for two to three days before the final rites were performed.
Wakf Board in-charge CEO Mohammed Khasim said, “Five years ago, 32 acres were allotted by the government at Balapur which is the muthawali. We can’t call it an exclusive graveyard for Covid-19. Other graveyards are also accepting Covid-19 bodies if the victim belonged to the area. In some cases, bodies that are rejected by others, are brought to the Faqeer Mullah graveyard.”
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About the Author
U Sudhakar Reddy

Sudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times of India, Hyderabad. Following the trail of migration and drought across the rustic landscape of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Sudhakar reported extensively on government apathy, divisive politics, systemic gender discrimination, agrarian crisis and the will to survive great odds. His curiosity for peeking behind the curtain triumphed over the criminal agenda of many scamsters in the highest political and corporate circles, making way for breaking stories such as Panama Papers Scam, Telgi Stamp Paper Scam, and many others. His versatility in reporting extended to red corridors of left-wing extremism where the lives of security forces and the locals in Maoist-affected areas were key points of investigation. His knack for detail provided crucial evidence of involvement from overseas in terrorist bombings in Hyderabad.

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