No cooling system: Thane hosp morgue refuses to keep bodies

MUMBAI: Thane civil hospital morgue has refused to take any more bodies after the cooling system broke down, leading to faster decomposition of bodies.

The hospital has asked the police to dispose of unclaimed bodies kept in the morgue.

The cooling system at the morgue, which gets 10 bodies every day, has been working irregularly for the past 10 days. With the temperature much above the 2 degrees that is required to preserve bodies, bodies were decomposing faster.

On Tuesday, the cooling system stopped completely.

The morgue currently has 35 unclaimed bodies.

Hospital staff said the stench from the morgue has made it impossible for them to work in the wards.

“Wehavestarted usingmasks but this doesn’t save us from the stench. We aren’t even able to go near the morgue,” said a staffer. The hospital has issued a notice stating that they wouldn’t take bodies while the cooling system is repaired.

This is not the first time when the cooling system at the hospital broke down. In October 2018, the hospital had to close down its morgue for a week.

Thane district civil surgeon Dr Kailas Pawar said he has instructed police to take away the unclaimed bodies.

“Thereissometechnicalissue with the air cooler of the morgue

so we had to stop taking bodies. Also, we needed to vacate the morgue for the purpose of sanitisation,” he said.

According to rules, an unclaimed body can be disposed within four days of its recovery if police fail to identify the person. But, if police investigation requires further preservation of the body, they can extend the time of conservation to a maximum period of eight days.

But often, police delay the disposal process for requirements in crime investigation.

Accordingtohospitalsources, forthelast 11months, thebody of a man, suspected to be foreign national, is lying at the hospital. Theautopsyhadrevealedthathe died of stab wounds.

“We are trying to get permission to preserve few bodies at other hospitals and we will dispose of the others as per the requirements,” said aseniorofficer from Thane police station, requesting anonymity.