Residents feared that the cremation of an infected body would spread the virus to the region. (Representative)
Agartala:
A 42-year-old man, the first COVID-19 death in Tripura, was cremated on Wednesday in Battala ghat, after hours of protests by local people who feared that the cremation of an infected body would spread the virus deadly in the region, officials said.
Biswa Kumar Debbarma, from an isolated village in the West Tripura district, died on Tuesday at GB Pant hospital in Agartala.
As word spread that her body would be cremated at the burning ghat of Battala, the main crematorium in the state capital, hundreds of locals blocked the adjacent road on Tuesday evening, officials said.
The magistrate of Agartala Sadar’s division, Ashim Saha, said that the administration had held several rounds of talks with the demonstrators and tried to convince that all precautionary measures would be taken before the cremation.
However, the case was only resolved after local BJP deputy Asish Kumar Saha and former health minister Sudip Roy Barman intervened and held a meeting with residents to convince them.
Roy Barman said that there were misconceptions among the locals because of which they objected to the cremation.
“We held a meeting with the locals and their misconceptions were dispelled. However, the cremation was delayed for at least 24 hours, but we are happy that people can understand the problem,” he said. declared.
Subdivision police officer Anirban Das said that adequate security forces were deployed near the area to avoid any untoward incidents.
