Bodies lie rotting in Kovai GH morgue

COIMBATORE: The dead have no dignity in Coimba­tore. Over a dozen unclaimed bodies are rotting with maggots crawling all over them at the mortuary in Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH), a State Government-run institution.An Express Investigation has revealed that some bodies have fallen from the racks and are lying scattered on the floor as the cold storage facility at the mortuary has been out of operation for over 20 days now. The false ceiling of the nearly dilapidated mortuary has given way and blocks from the ceiling are falling on the dead.Although, Express has photographic evidence of the repulsive scenes at the mortuary, they are not being reproduced here in order to not offend the sensitivities of the readers and uphold the dignity of the deceased.The rotting bodies, most of which are those of people killed in accidents or the destitute who died of disease, have also exposed the worker­s in the mortuary and staff at the hospital to serious health risk. Some of them have already picked up infection while handling the bodies. Nearly 1,500 in-patients and 6,000 outpatients who walk in and out of the CMCH daily are also at risk.“The smell is overpowering. We have to cover our noses with at least two masks before entering the cold storage to remove the bodies for postmortem or to keep another body inside. As it is, we don’t have adequate masks and gloves for protection,” complained a staffer who took this reporter inside.“We have to battle not just the infection but also ensure that the ceiling blocks don’t fall on us,” he added, pointing to the fallen blocks neatly stacked up outside.Every day the CMCH rece­ives 15 to 20 bodies for postmortem. Since the postmortem room lacks su­fficient space, often the bodies are cut open inside the mortuary. “Unclai­med bodies are placed inside the cold storage facility to help police to identify th­em later,” a senior doctor at the CMCH said.According to insiders, the cold storage facility went out of order due to a short circuit caused by frequent power outages and old wiring. “Recently officials of the Public Works Department inspected the mortuary but could not step inside due to the repulsive smell and left without assessing the damage to the building,” a source said.