Bodies of Covid-19 victims among those dumped in Ganga, says govt

Bodies of Covid-19 victims have been found dumped in some Indian rivers, a state government said in a letter seen by Reuters, the first official acknowledgement of an alarming practice it said may stem from poverty and fear of the disease in villages.
 
Although media have linked the recent increase in the numbers of such bodies to the pandemic, Uttar Pradesh, has until now not publicly revealed the cause of the deaths.
 
Meanwhile, the Centre directed Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on Sunday to prevent dumping of dead bodies in the Ganga and its tributaries, and focus on their