Hyderabad: The second wave of COVID-19 is getting critical in the state, and the rapidly increasing number of confirmed cases and fatalities are leading to a fear psychosis. The pandemic induced dread is so much that the family members are not willing to even have a last glance of their kin and are abstaining from performing last rites of the deceased persons. In many cases, municipal staff is performing it instead.
The cremation of dead bodies has also however has turned into a lucrative business and some corporate agencies are offering services from carrying dead bodies of COVID-19 patients to crematorium grounds and performing their last rites through a special package. These corporate agencies are charging between Rs.30,000 to Rs.35,000 for their services.
Ethin City Funeral Service is one such agency which is offering its services in Hyderabad, Bangaluru, Jaipur and other cities. The agency charges Rs.32,000 for service in Hyderabad for performing the traditional rites and cremation. The agency collects the dead body from the hospital and takes it to the crematorium ground and after the last rites it hands over the urn of ashes. The Agencies have different categories of packages like gold and silver for the rich and well off.