More than 100 bodies have been found in the Ganga River in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, raising fears that Indian rivers could be contaminated with the coronavirus.
According to IRNA on NDTV, Indian officials announced on Friday that the coronavirus had been confirmed in samples taken from the water of the Sabarmati River, which flows through the capital city of Gujarat, Ahmedabad.
The virus has also been found in the waters of Lake Kankriya and Chandula in Ahmedabad.
Indian researchers collected the samples from the Indian Institute of Technology in Gandhi Negar and Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Indian researchers say more samples should be taken from other rivers and lakes in the country to determine if contamination of India’s surface water resources is contagious.
In the last two months, India has witnessed unprecedented deaths from coronary heart disease in cities and villages. Due to the increasing cost of Hindu cremation, many poor families in rural areas have been forced to abandon corona victims in rivers or bury them on the shores of Indian lakes and rivers.
In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, more than 171 bodies have been found so far in the Ganga River, believed to be Crohn’s patients, according to Indian officials.
State officials have now set up tours along the Ganges River to prevent the bodies from passing through and transporting them to another location for cremation.
