This story is from July 14, 2020

Driver backs out, doctor steers tractor to cremate coronavirus victim in Telangana

A doctor drove a Covid-19 patient’s body in a tractor to a crematorium to help complete the last rites after the driver backed out.
Doctor drives COVID deceased to crematorium in a tractor in Telangana
Dr Sriram, municipal staff and victim’s kin on the tractor
HYDERABAD: A doctor drove a Covid-19 patient’s body in a tractor to a crematorium to help complete the last rites after the driver backed out.
Soon after a 45-year-old man died from Covid-19 at the local government hospital in Peddapalli on Sunday, the municipal workers provided a tractor to carry the body as the small facility does not have an ambulance or a mortuary. But the tractor driver flatly refused to drive, fearing he too would contract the virus even though he was assured that all Covid-19 protocols were followed in terms of covering the body, while the aid workers and family members were in PPEs.

When Dr Pendyala Sriram, the district surveillance officer for novel coronavirus, heard about the incident, he tried to resolve the crisis but the driver refused to budge.

That is when Dr Sriram decided to drive the tractor to the cremation site about 2 km away. “What I did was part of my duty,” Dr Sriram told TOI.
109 Covid-19 cases and nine deaths in Peddapalli district
“It was already six hours since the patient had died. The family was getting restive. The staff too was not comfortable seeing a body still lying there. Since I am the district surveillance officer, it is my duty to ensure that the last rites of victims are performed with dignity and following Covid norms,” he said.

The patient had tested positive on June 10 and was in home isolation. As his condition worsened with comorbidities, he was rushed to the hospital on July 12, but succumbed. Peddapalli has seen 109 coronavirus cases and nine persons from the district have succumbed to the virus so far.
“The collector has supplied us enough PPE kits and also body bags. Since we had the protection gear, we used them,” he said. Though it was not easy driving the tractor, Dr Sriram said: “I am a weekend farmer, so I know how to work hard.”
His 75-year-old father Pendyala Sambashiva Rao retired as OSD in the horticulture department.
“His motto was that the work should get done. It does not matter who does it,” Dr Sriram said, giving credit to his father for his actions.
Finance minister T Harish Rao also tweeted in praise of Dr Sriram.
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About the Author
Ch Sushil Rao

Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.

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