Patna, May 13 (IANS): The National Human Rights Commission on Thursday served notice to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and the Union Water Resource Ministry after hundreds of dead bodies were found in the Ganga river in Bihar's Buxar, and Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur and Ballia districts.

The commission has asked them to submit their response in four weeks.

As many as 71 dead bodies were found in several places on the banks of the Ganga in Buxar, and over 100 dead bodies in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur and Ballia district in the last three days. On Thursday, several partially cremated dead bodies were found near Patna's Gulabi Ghat Patna as well.

The NHRC said that throwing dead bodies in rivers is against humanity, and is also a health hazard for people living on the banks of the river and a threat to the environment.

The videos of floating dead bodies in the Ganga have shocked the entire nation. More shockingly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the respective district administrations used earth mover machines (JCB) to bury the corpses after they were retrieved.

The Bihar government has alleged that the dead bodies were flowing from upstream Uttar Pradesh districts of Ghazipur, Varanasi, Prayagraj (Allahabad) etc situated on the banks of the Ganga.

In a bid to locate dead bodies, the Buxar administration had placed a huge net in Ganga river near Chausa located on the border with Uttar Pradesh, and 10 bodies were found in it on Thursday.