The cremation ghats in Varanasi are overflowing with bodies of the Covid dead with queues sometimes stretching into residential areas. Bodies line the stairs of the Harishchandra Ghat along the Ganga in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency. Staff members at the crematorium said the body count had been 125 on Friday and 127 on Saturday, almost 10 times higher than the 15-odd bodies that used to be cremated daily. According to a crematorium employee, the ghat has two electric incinerators and three platforms for wood pyres. “Officially, there were bodies of 11 coronavirus infected persons on Friday and 12 on Saturday. But the total numbers of the dead has become unusually high,” said Mohit Chaudhary, a staffer.