SHinjiKazava
2021-04-15T05:51:07+00:00
VARANASI/MEERUT: The crackle of burning pyres, like the hiss of a giant serpent, feeds the smoke that is bellowing from Varanasi’s Harishchandra Ghat, an old cremation ground on Ganga’s banks. The heat is intolerable, singeing almost, and Rajesh Singh, 35, who runs a small departmental store in Lahartara, is sweating profusely, waiting for his turn. His uncle has just died from Covid-19 and the funeral rites have to be done. The “manager” asks him for Rs 11,000. When Singh prests, saying it shouldn’t be more than Rs 5,000, the man asks him to leave with the body he has brought.
瓦拉纳西/密鲁特：柴堆燃烧时发出的噼啪声，就像一条巨蟒发出的嘶嘶声，瓦拉纳西的Harishchandra Ghat火葬场喷出滚滚浓烟。Harishchandra Ghat是恒河岸边一个古老的火葬场。天气热得让人无法忍受，几乎把人烤焦。35岁的拉杰什·辛格在Lahartara开了一家小百货商店，他在排队等候时大汗淋漓。他的叔叔刚死于新冠，必须举行葬礼。火葬场“经理”向他要价11000卢比。辛格说价格不能超过5000卢比，这名男子便要求辛格带着尸体离开。
Across cremation grounds in UP, harried kin of those who have fallen to the virus are being overcharged. And they have no recourse but to pay up. With bodies brought in unending piles, caretakers at these places have neither the time nor the patience to bargain.
在北方邦的火葬场里，新冠病死患者的亲属被收取高额费用。他们求助无门，只能付钱。尸体堆积如山，这些地方的管理员既没有时间也没有耐心讨价还价。
“The same wood and ‘sgri’ that were earlier available for Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 is now being sold for Rs 11,000 or more,” Singh told TOI on Sunday. “The quantity is also compromised, but you just can’t ask anything. Where will people go with dead bodies?”
周日辛格对《印度时报》说:“早先价格是3000到4000卢比，现在涨到1.1万卢比甚至更高。但你无言以对，不然带着尸体去哪里?”
Another person, who didn’t want to be named, that this correspondent met said he was reduced to tears. “I lost my aunt on April 14. I paid Rs 22,000 for her cremation at Harishchandra Ghat. Then I lost my grandmother yesterday (Saturday) and this time I was made to shell out Rs 30,000. They said, ‘Forget the earlier rate, can’t you see how many bodies are in the queue?’ I had to give in.”
记者遇到的另一个不愿透露姓名的人说，他哭了。“4月14日我婶婶去世了，我花了2.2万卢比火化。昨天(周六)我祖母去世了，这一次我不得不支付3万卢比。他们说，‘忘了之前的价格吧，你看不出有多少尸体在排队吗?’我不得不让步。”
He added, “Even after overcharging, the services are not satisfactory. The wooden logs, at times, are not sufficient. Often partially burnt logs are stuffed into fresh pyres.”
他补充说，“即使收费过高，服务也不令人满意。有时，木头不够用。通常没烧尽的木头会被塞进新的柴堆里。”
After several complaints, the local administration seems to be finally waking up. “Now we have fixed rates for cremations. Someone who has died due to reason other than Covid-19 will be cremated at Rs 5,000. And Covid-19 victims for Rs 7,000,” Deepak Kumar, a sub-inspector posted at Assi outpost in Varanasi, said. “And for ric crematorium, it will be Rs 500. The community in charge of the burning ghats has agreed. We will put up a rate list prominently.”
经过几次投诉，当地似乎终于醒悟了。驻瓦拉纳西的助理检查员Deepak Kumar说：“现在我们规定了火葬费。非新冠死者的火葬费是5000卢比，新冠死者是7000卢比，”电力焚化的价格是500卢比。我们会把价目表贴在显眼的地方。”
瓦拉纳西/密鲁特：柴堆燃烧时发出的噼啪声，就像一条巨蟒发出的嘶嘶声，瓦拉纳西的Harishchandra Ghat火葬场喷出滚滚浓烟。Harishchandra Ghat是恒河岸边一个古老的火葬场。天气热得让人无法忍受，几乎把人烤焦。35岁的拉杰什·辛格在Lahartara开了一家小百货商店，他在排队等候时大汗淋漓。他的叔叔刚死于新冠，必须举行葬礼。火葬场“经理”向他要价11000卢比。辛格说价格不能超过5000卢比，这名男子便要求辛格带着尸体离开。
Across cremation grounds in UP, harried kin of those who have fallen to the virus are being overcharged. And they have no recourse but to pay up. With bodies brought in unending piles, caretakers at these places have neither the time nor the patience to bargain.
在北方邦的火葬场里，新冠病死患者的亲属被收取高额费用。他们求助无门，只能付钱。尸体堆积如山，这些地方的管理员既没有时间也没有耐心讨价还价。
“The same wood and ‘sgri’ that were earlier available for Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 is now being sold for Rs 11,000 or more,” Singh told TOI on Sunday. “The quantity is also compromised, but you just can’t ask anything. Where will people go with dead bodies?”
周日辛格对《印度时报》说:“早先价格是3000到4000卢比，现在涨到1.1万卢比甚至更高。但你无言以对，不然带着尸体去哪里?”
Another person, who didn’t want to be named, that this correspondent met said he was reduced to tears. “I lost my aunt on April 14. I paid Rs 22,000 for her cremation at Harishchandra Ghat. Then I lost my grandmother yesterday (Saturday) and this time I was made to shell out Rs 30,000. They said, ‘Forget the earlier rate, can’t you see how many bodies are in the queue?’ I had to give in.”
记者遇到的另一个不愿透露姓名的人说，他哭了。“4月14日我婶婶去世了，我花了2.2万卢比火化。昨天(周六)我祖母去世了，这一次我不得不支付3万卢比。他们说，‘忘了之前的价格吧，你看不出有多少尸体在排队吗?’我不得不让步。”
He added, “Even after overcharging, the services are not satisfactory. The wooden logs, at times, are not sufficient. Often partially burnt logs are stuffed into fresh pyres.”
他补充说，“即使收费过高，服务也不令人满意。有时，木头不够用。通常没烧尽的木头会被塞进新的柴堆里。”
After several complaints, the local administration seems to be finally waking up. “Now we have fixed rates for cremations. Someone who has died due to reason other than Covid-19 will be cremated at Rs 5,000. And Covid-19 victims for Rs 7,000,” Deepak Kumar, a sub-inspector posted at Assi outpost in Varanasi, said. “And for ric crematorium, it will be Rs 500. The community in charge of the burning ghats has agreed. We will put up a rate list prominently.”
经过几次投诉，当地似乎终于醒悟了。驻瓦拉纳西的助理检查员Deepak Kumar说：“现在我们规定了火葬费。非新冠死者的火葬费是5000卢比，新冠死者是7000卢比，”电力焚化的价格是500卢比。我们会把价目表贴在显眼的地方。”