Varanasi: The Varanasi Municipal Corporation has started a registration service for every body arriving at Manikarnika and Harishchandra Ghats. A QR-code slip from these ghats will help authorities issue death certificates, and the free-of-cost service will soon roll out at 12 major cemeteries.Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari officially launched the free death-registration service at Harishchandra Ghat by handing a QR-code slip to Lavkush Sharma of Sonbhadra, who brought his family member’s remains for cremation. He said the service will record data on bodies at Manikarnika and Harishchandra Ghats and ease paperwork for grieving families. The computerised free registration system will help in collecting accurate figures and an actual assessment of bodies reaching these two ghats for last rites.VMC has identified 12 major cemeteries of Muslims and Christians in the city where the computerised death registration system will be started, said the mayor, adding that the purpose of introducing this facility is only to obtain correct data of cremations taking place at the main ghats of the city. Relatives will only have to provide the requested information, said the Mayor, mentioning that a QR code-containing registration slip will facilitate the issuance of death certificates.To provide uninterrupted service, VMC has deployed employees in three shifts. These employees will be present at the ghat 24 hours and will record basic information such as the name, address, and age of each deceased person arriving.This new system will facilitate the management of last rites at the ghats. Additionally, the corporation will have its own reliable database, which will prove extremely important for future planning and urban management.
