Heat overwhelms Manikarnika Ghat: Over 700 cremations in 48 hrs

As residents of Varanasi lined up to vote on Saturday, another sombre queue formed from Maidagin to Mokshdwar in the holy city, where people brought bodies for cremation at Manikarnika Ghat.

For the second consecutive day, the ancient cremation ground witnessed an unprecedented surge in bodies arriving for last rites. Over the past 48 hours, more than 700 bodies have been cremated—three times the usual number for this ghat.

Bodies from Varanasi and neighboring districts are regularly brought to Manikarnika Ghat for cremation, as it is believed that those cremated here attain salvation.

Dom Raja Om Chaudhary, responsible for managing the last rites at the ghat, attributed the sudden increase in bodies to the severe heatwave gripping the region.