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Manav Mander
Ludhiana, April 27
A day after the bodies of two Covid patients were ferried on a cart and an auto-rickshaw for cremation without following the safety protocol, negligence on part of the Health Department in maintaining record of patients who died due to Covid has come to the fore. An inquiry has been marked into the matter by the Civil Surgeon.
Two patients Bhagwan Shah (67) of Focal Point and Kanta Rani (60) of Amarpura were admitted to the Civil Hospital, where they died on Sunday after testing positive.
After postmortem on Monday, the bodies were handed over to the families for cremation in sealed bags (with Covid positive marking), but as ambulances at the hospitals were busy, the families made own arrangements and ferried the bodies to the crematorium. Shah’s body was taken in an auto-rickshaw, while Rani’s body arrived at the crematorium on a hand-pulled cart.
Ludhiana, April 26
In a stark reality of how the second Covid wave has hit the health infrastructure, bodies of patients succumbing to the virus are being brought to the crematorium in Ludhiana in autorickshaws and cyclerickshaws without following the safety protocol. Forget beds in hospitals, the deceased are being denied dignity even in death, says the family of a 76-year-old man from Focal Point in Ludhiana who died of Covid on Monday.
Unable to arrange an ambulance to carry the body, his wife and other relatives opted for an autorickshaw.
“The hospital failed to arrange an ambulance nor could we. Left with no option and after a long wait, we got the body in an autorickshaw. Tough times indeed!” said the deceased s wife said, her voice choking with emotions.