8 freezers at Faridabad Civil Hospital mortuary defunct for months

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, May 29

As many as eight freezers at the mortuary of the Civil Hospital here have been lying defunct for several months, due to which the authorities have been facing difficulties in preserving bodies.

The mortuary has 18 freezers and of these, eight have been lying defunct for many months.

“The bodies start getting decomposed in three to four hours of death if these are not kept or stored in freezers, especially in the summer,” said an employee of the Civil Hospital, who did not wish to be named.

He said while bodies may be required to be kept in a freezer for three to four days for identification or a post-mortem examination, it becomes difficult to preserve these in the absence of working freezers.

“Many bodies, which arrived at the mortuary in the past 24 hours, were kept in the open due to a shortage of freezers,” the employee said, adding that these might get decomposed soon and the authorities may not be able to conduct further examination or necessary formalities required to be done before cremation.

It is claimed that though air conditioners have been installed, these were not enough to preserve the bodies. They have to be kept in a freezer. According to information, the bodies that are not kept in freezers start raising a stink in the mortuary complex.

Civil Hospital officials said six to seven post-mortem examinations are done every day and 185 autopsies have been conducted this month.

Satish Chopra, a social activist, said the authorities should ensure proper upkeep and upgrade of the Civil Hospital’s infrastructure.

Dr Savita Yadav, Principal Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, said the department has already taken up issue with the higher authorities. Dr Yadav added that they have asked the authorities to provide at least five to six new freezers to the Civil Hospital at the earliest.