India’s Covid crisis pushes up the cost of living – and dying

Family members of Vijay Raju, who died due to coronavirus disease, mourn before his cremation at a crematorium ground in Giddenahalli village on the outskirts of Bengaluru, India, May 13, 2021. [Reuters]

Ashok Khondare, a 39-year-old vegetable seller in the western Indian city of Pune, had already borrowed money to pay for his sister’s treatment when she died in a private hospital two weeks after contacting COVID-19.

While trying to overcome the tragedy, he also had to deal with money problems that increased with his sister's death.