Coronavirus Pandemic In UP: Lucknow Crematorium Covered With Tin Walls As Video Of Rows Of Pyres Goes Viral

Disquieting scenes emerged from the Lucknow crematorium of endless funeral fires. Reports of irregularities in the number of deaths have also come to light. And this sparked a response from authorities in the Uttar Pradesh capital: Block the view with blue metal sheets. Workers were seen tying up the metal sheets, often found at construction sites, a day after reports questioned a mismatch between the official figure of deaths because of COVID-19 & the data from the crematoriums (PTI Pic). The move also comes a day after a video of the crematorium with a large number of burning pyres was widely shared on social media, triggering concern. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was among those who called the move an attempt to hide the truth. Meanwhile, traders in the state capital Lucknow have come forward to make an attempt for breaking the chain of second wave of coronavirus declaring self-lockdown by closing their business establishments. Unfazed by the business losses, traders have declared a self-lockdown for three to eight days in different areas of the state capital. Lucknow now has over 31,000 active COVID-19 cases, 10 times more than what they were just two weeks ago. On April 14 evening, Uttar Pradesh reported a massive 20,510 new COVID-19 infections, its highest figure in a 24-hour period.