Permission has once again been granted for open pyre/air cremations for Covid-19 victims. The Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs made the decision following meetings which were held yesterday, January 12, with the Prime Minister, Minister of Health, Minister of National Security, Minister of Energy, and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister and the medical experts at the Ministry of Health led by the Chief Medical Officer.

According to a statement from the AGLA, it was noted that the Government took the decision based upon a broad consideration of recent developments and current factors.

The statement also noted that the PM Dr. Keith Rowley yesterday authorized the Attorney General to hold immediate discussions with representatives of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) as the largest representative organisation of the Hindu Community, to inform of the permissions.

The rest of the statement is as follows:

“In this regard the Attorney General this afternoon had the pleasure of meeting with His Holiness the Dharmacharya, Pundit Dr. Rampersad Parasram and the SDMS’ legal advisor Mr. Dinesh Rambally at the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs together with the Attorney General’s legal advisor Mr. Fyard Hosein SC, to relay developments and to discuss the immediate settling of the necessary protocols and guidelines.”

“The Attorney General informed of the Chief Medical Officer’s caution as to the extreme danger posed by improperly conducted open pyre/air cremations for Covid-19 victims and reminded that it remains difficult to predict the virulence and the vast mutations of the Covid-19 virus. Accordingly, the Attorney General also reminded that the Public Health Regulations, guidelines and protocols, which flow from the Public Health Ordinance, are not static and that the development of same are strictly responsive to and based upon a number of factors including the expert medical advice that the Government receives at any particular point in time.

“The Dharmacharya who is himself a past Chief Medical Officer has provided immense assistance to the Government in arriving at the current position. Equally, Mr. Rambally as the SDMS’s legal advisor has adopted a most conciliatory approach in ventilating the SDMS’ position in this matter of the grant of permission for members of the Hindu faith to conduct open pyre/air cremations for Covid-19 victims.

The State has always informed of the constant review of positions taken in respect of the management of the Covid-19 pandemic and of the need to permit room for decision making based upon the factors involved in same. In all the circumstances the Attorney General wishes to express gratitude to the Dharmacharya and the SDMS for the gracious assistance provided in coming to the present position as we move to the immediate settling of the necessary protocols and guidelines which will include the recommendations of the SDMS which shall be delivered to the Office of the Attorney General.”
The Government was not in a position to have come to this decision any sooner and remains grateful
for patience and understanding in the management of the ravages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic
in which thousands of persons have tragically lost their lives in our beloved country.