BBC is mostly fake, Like any other US based news media.
In hindu tradition, people cremate and spread the ashes in Ganges.
India's holiest river Ganges is swollen with Covid victims
11–20 of 92 posts
Re: India's holiest river Ganges is swollen with Covid victims
#12What is the best way for someone in the US to donate to help with the situation in India? I'm not Indian so I don't know much about charities in India but news like this is just heartbreaking and I want to do my minuscule part in helping. Thanks in advance.
https://www.khalsaaid.org/ this is a good organization.
Avoid donating to PM CARES FUND. It is a private entity, not a government fund, that has collected almost 2B$ and as far as I can tell had spent only 30M$ to set up a couple of oxygen plants, most of which are not functional.
Another charity I would avoid is Sewa international, which is the charity arm of right wing, nationalist and militant organization RSS. Indias current party in power BJP is an offshoot of RSS.
Re: India's holiest river Ganges is swollen with Covid victims
#13What is the best way for someone in the US to donate to help with the situation in India? I'm not Indian so I don't know much about charities in India but news like this is just heartbreaking and I want to do my minuscule part in helping. Thanks in advance.
Hi. My state has a new chief minister who has been doing amazing work on Covid. A third wave is predicted in india in September and he's doing rapid work to buy 3.5 crore vaccines before it hits. I have great faith in his work. If you can donate to his state fund that would be amazing. Here is some news coverage about it -- https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/donations-...
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2021/may/...
This link has bank account details for donating -- https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2021/may/...
Also I completely agree with the other commenters about funds not to donate to.
Re: India's holiest river Ganges is swollen with Covid victims
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
No it is not. Used to be true a century ago, to a lesser extent- half a century ago. Not anymore.
From the friendly article: > But many communities follow what is known as "Jal Pravah" - the practice of floating in the river the bodies of children, unwed girls, or those who die from infectious diseases or snake bites. > Many poor people also cannot afford cremation, and so they wrap the body in white muslin and push it into the water. Sometimes, the bodies are tied to stones to ensure they remain submerged, but a…
> You can also find plenty of gruesome footage of decomposing corpses in the Ganges near Varanasi, shot by recent tourists.
To be clear, it’s the footage that had been shot by tourists, not the corpses, right?
Re: India's holiest river Ganges is swollen with Covid victims
#15The number of fatalities is 10x-100x more than what is published officially. Most people died at homes due to them being rural and all hospitals working at capacity. At government hospitals, you have to be tested and be covid positive to be listed as covid death. Private hospitals in rural areas simply don't send the stats back. I don't know any family in India that didn't have a death among their relatives. They sai…
Religion being the opium for the masses
Without Exception.
Re: India's holiest river Ganges is swollen with Covid victims
#16The number of fatalities is 10x-100x more than what is published officially. Most people died at homes due to them being rural and all hospitals working at capacity. At government hospitals, you have to be tested and be covid positive to be listed as covid death. Private hospitals in rural areas simply don't send the stats back. I don't know any family in India that didn't have a death among their relatives. They sai…
who is stopping you from voting him out? It's a fucking democracy last I checked.
Re: India's holiest river Ganges is swollen with Covid victims
#17FWIW, even in normal times it's fairly common to "bury" dead people by putting them in Ganges. (Cremation is preferred, but can be prohibitively expensive for the poor.) Varanasi in particular is notorious for this. For avoidance of doubt, it's clear that situation right now is much worse than usual, but it's also not quite as unusual as if we had bodies floating down (say) the Hudson or Thames.
No it is not. Used to be true a century ago, to a lesser extent- half a century ago. Not anymore.
It very much is. If you don’t know then Google it.
Re: India's holiest river Ganges is swollen with Covid victims
#18FWIW, even in normal times it's fairly common to "bury" dead people by putting them in Ganges. (Cremation is preferred, but can be prohibitively expensive for the poor.) Varanasi in particular is notorious for this. For avoidance of doubt, it's clear that situation right now is much worse than usual, but it's also not quite as unusual as if we had bodies floating down (say) the Hudson or Thames.
That’s correct
Re: India's holiest river Ganges is swollen with Covid victims
#19The number of fatalities is 10x-100x more than what is published officially. Most people died at homes due to them being rural and all hospitals working at capacity. At government hospitals, you have to be tested and be covid positive to be listed as covid death. Private hospitals in rural areas simply don't send the stats back. I don't know any family in India that didn't have a death among their relatives. They sai…
Also, India had the world's largest protests by farmers protesting against removal of subsidies.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/06/opinions/india-farmer-protest...
> The number of fatalities is 10x-100x more than what is published
Source?
Re: India's holiest river Ganges is swollen with Covid victims
#20What is the best way for someone in the US to donate to help with the situation in India? I'm not Indian so I don't know much about charities in India but news like this is just heartbreaking and I want to do my minuscule part in helping. Thanks in advance.
Whatever you do, do not donate to the PM Cares Fund. It's transaction is supposed to be open to the public, but it is not. Requests made to Right To Information Act was denied every time. So please stay away from it.
Here are some suggestions-
1. Gunj - active in very rural and remote areas
2. Akshaya Patra - currently involved in feeding the poorest of the poor
3. Ramakrishna Mission - Religious organization but honest as hell in serving those in need
4. Red Volunteers - They are volunteers from the Communist Party doing amazing work, as is covered in media and seen by me, but they don't have a centralized payments system
5. CM funds of some states are tranparent, but I would stay away. States like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Odisha come to mind.
I would suggest Ramakrishna Misiion and Akshaya Patra as I have seen their work first hand. And you would find it easy to donate to them.