17 unclaimed bodies in hospital bottleneck

Margao: Environment minister Aleixo Sequeira revealed on Friday that 17 unclaimed bodies were occupying space in two of Goa’s major healthcare facilities—the South Goa district hospital and GMC.

Sequeira announced plans to seek necessary funding for the proper disposal of these bodies. Sources said the situation pointed to a growing problem in the state’s mortuary management system, particularly after the South Goa district collector’s unsuccessful attempts to engage the municipalities for body disposal.

Current regulations designate municipal bodies as responsible for disposing of unclaimed corpses, with govt allocating funds to them for each body disposed of. However, the apparent lack of action from municipal authorities has created a bottleneck in the system.

“The police have no funds, yet they are made to suffer and run from one govt hospital to another to preserve the corpses. Govt hospital mortuaries, too, have limited space for storing up to ten dead bodies,” a police official said. The situation has particularly impacted law enforcement operations, as police struggle to find adequate storage space for newly discovered unidentified bodies.