Kandhamal: Controversy has erupted over alleged medical callousness in Phulbani town of Kandhamal district after a family was forced to carry the body of a deceased member in an auto-rickshaw. Usually government hearses (Mahaprayan vehicles) are used to carry bodies of the deceased.
Sources said, Bhimsen Kanhar, a resident of Namerabali village under Gochhapada police limits, had gone for a bath to a rivulet close to his house. Due to reasons unknown, he slipped into deeper waters and fell unconscious. When his family members came to know about the incident, they rushed to the accident spot and rescued Bhimsen. They first took him to Gochhapada government hospital and then to Phulbani district headquarters hospital (DHH). However, doctors at the Phulbani DHH declared Kanhar dead on arrival.
Police after registering an unnatural death case handed over the body to the family members after conducting an autopsy.
It was then problems began for the Kanhar family. They started to look for the government hearse to take the body back to the village. They ran from pillar to post, but met with refusals everywhere. So they were forced to carry Bhimsen’s body back to the village in an auto-rickshaw.
The sight of the grieving family members carrying the deceased’s body in a three-wheeler has become the talk of the town here.
When contacted, Phulbani DHH ADMO, Dr Abhay Pattanayak blamed the family members of the deceased for the controversy. Dr Pattanayak said that the ‘Mahaprayan’ vehicle has gone for repairs after it met with an accident approximately two weeks back. “In place of the hearse, we are now using a Maruti (OMNI) van. We had informed the concerned family members of its availability, but they decided to take the body back in an auto-rickshaw. The staff of the hospital is not at fault,” added the ADMO.