MARGAO
When the South Goa District Hospital is reporting over 10 deaths a day, the hearse vans at the disposal of the hospital seemed to have not taken pace with the requirements to transport the Covid bodies to the place of burial or cremation.
Ask the mortuary in-charge and medico-legal surgeon, Dr Madhu G on the arrangements for the hearse vans at his disposal and he replies back saying the administration has kept only three hearse vans at the disposal of the mortuary.
In a situation when the Covid deaths taking place at the South Goa district hospital are put at over 10 per day, three hearse vans grossly fall short of the requirements, forcing gullible relatives of the dead at the mercy of the touts and agents.
Questions are being raised why the district administration has till date not requisitioned additional hearse vans from the civic bodies when the deaths are continuously mounting with each passing day.
Of the three hearse vans, one is reserved to transport Covid bodies to long distances, staying in North Goa. The remaining two vans are kept to transport the Covid bodies to the Margao crematorium and Ponda crematorium, leaving people from Salcete and other places to hire private hearse vans to transport bodies of their relatives for the last rites.
While conceding that the hearse van arrangement falls short of the requirements, Dr Madhu said the district Collector has requisitioned the Mormugao Municipal Council hearse van and is now at disposal of the mortuary.
He, however, hastened to add that the mortuary should be provided with additional 108 hearse vans so that people are not forced to hire private vans and labourers to transport the bodies to the burial and cremation grounds. “When Covid deaths are taking place at the South district hospital every day, it is surprising that the number of hearse vans have not kept pace with the requirements to transport the bodies,” remarked an official, only hoping the authorities will put a SOP in place like what was done during the first Covid wave when Covid bodies were systematically transported for the last rites without putting additional burden on the relatives.
