PANAJI
"The Health Minister has assured to commission the morgue by February, but as it is an assurance in the House, I want to assure that it would be commissioned by March 2018. The major problem at morgues was disposal of unidentified bodies. I have already provided money to the collectors and after that both at GMC and Hospicio the bodies have been disposed off," said Parrikar.
He was responding to Margao MLA Digambar Kamat who pointed out that there is shortage of cabinets in the morgue for storage of dead bodies.
"This issue pertains to all constituencies in South Goa right from Canacona to Sanguem. The morgue at Hospicio is non-functional. At TB hospital, there are five cabinets of four units. The reply by health minister in July stated that all 20 units are functional while today's reply states that only 17 units are functional. As per my information, 16 are in working condition," he said.
The Health Minister however said that the Department is keeping a strict vigil on the working of the 20 cabinets in the morgue.
"Even today all 20 cabinets are working. There were three cabinets that were non-functional in the last one month. I have told the department that they should go for annual maintenance contract of the same," he said adding, "There are only four unknown bodies now and as of today we have about six vacant cabinets which are totally functional. In the last eight months there has never been a condition that we have dropped below the availability of three."
Kamat however sought to know why no additional cabinets were being procured. He also demanded that the morgue at ESI Hospital Margao be commissioned till the new South Goa District Hospital is commissioned.
The health minister assured, "In consultation with Labour Minister we will ensure that we make the morgue at ESI hospital functional so that at any given point at least 10 cabinets are available. Already there is a provision of 72 cabinets in the new district hospital which we are
looking at commissioning in May 2018."
