People wait in serpentine queues outside crematoriums in Coimbatore to bid farewell to their loved ones

Family members of Covid-19 victims wait in long queues outside cremation grounds in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, to bid farewell to their loved ones.

Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore, among the worst-affected districts in the second wave of the Covid-19 infection, continues to witness a surge in daily cases and fatalities. On average, the district has reported close to 3,000 daily cases and 17- 20 deaths since the beginning of May. As a result, the district's cremation grounds are now facing difficulties to cremate victims that generally used to cremate only 3 or 4 bodies on a daily basis. Anxious family members, in fear of contracting the virus, wait in serpentine queues outside the crematoriums to conduct the last rites of their loved ones as thick black smoke from the crematorium engulfs their surroundings.