Administration sits up to morgue stench

HOWRAH: The Howrah district administration has finally decided to take cognisance of complaints from residents of Mullick Phatak and Sandhyabazar areas, where a morgue and crematorium are situated. Unclaimed bodies lying in the morgue (without proper airconditioning) and their disposal at the crematorium later on, has made life miserable for residents.
District magistrate Vivek Kumar has admitted many people in the area were taken ill after 20 decomposed bodies were consigned to the flames on July 29.“Such an incident can’t be allowed to happen again. All agencies involved in the disposal of such dead bodies must play their role seriously and comply with orders passed by the Calcutta high court,� he said. The high court, from time to time, has hauled up the district administration for failing to look into this problem faced by residents. “Henceforth, to ensure proper co-ordination among all the agencies involved in the maintenance and operation of the morgue, the additional district magistrate (judicial) will hold monthly meetings with the concerned agencies.
The health officer of the Howrah Municipal Corporation has been asked to maintain close liaison with the ADM,� Kumar said. The DM has also asked the ADM to visit the morgue every fortnight to make ensure that bodies are disposed of every third day. However, he said that a decision to shift the crematorium elsewhere could not be taken solely by him. “Considering the feasibility, the proposal to shift the ghat elsewhere is being studied. I have to take into consideration the opinion of the police, CMOH, and HMC before taking any decision,� Kumar said. “Now, bodies more than three weeks old are disposed off. Two out of the three air-conditioners of the morgue at Mallick Fatak are not functioning for about one year,� claimed Subhas Dutta, president, Ganatantrik Nagarik Samity, who had taken the matter to court.