Mumbai: Bada Qabristan resumes COVID-19 task force team

The COVID team outside the gates of the Bada Qabristan

The Juma Masjid of Bombay Trust-owned Bada Qabristan in Marine Lines has reactivated its COVID task force team amid increasing deaths caused by COVID.

The team - which had been dormant for months - resumed its duties on March 27. The team is being fortified to assist, guide, and provide information to the city's Muslim community about SOPs to be followed while burying someone.

Juma Masjid Trustee Shoaib Khatib said, "We had 42 members when we first launched this task force last year on March 31. However, as case numbers and related deaths kept dropping, we only kept a six-member core group operating for the qabristan. But seeing the dire situation, we added 13 members."

Khatib said 29 deaths between March 27 and Arpil 4, a period of nine days, is a huge number. "We used to average around only two to three deaths per week before the second wave kicked in," said Khatib, adding that 65 burials took place in the past week. This number includes both COVID and non-COVID deaths. The graveyard accounts for almost 4,000 burial spots.

The primary duties of the task force are to help a deceased's relatives with information about different burial grounds and to identify which one is convenient. The team also helps family members bring the bodies from the hospital to the graveyard and conduct the rituals. "Our motto is to ensure that our phone lines are always open so that people can reach out for help anytime they want," he said.

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Average no. of burials in graveyard before arrival of 2nd wave