Noida mortuary handed over to health department

NOIDA: Nearly a week after TOI reported the dismal state-of-affairs at the post-mortem house in Sector 94, the Noida Authority, which is responsible for its upkeep, has formally handed over charge of the facility to the health department.

In most districts of Uttar Pradesh, the health department has charge of the post-mortem houses. However, it was different in Gautam Budh Nagar, as the mortuary was constructed by Noida Authority in 2004 and continued to remain under its charge instead of the health department, which deputes doctors for duty there.

This resulted in a lot of red tape for getting repairs done at the facility, as the chief medical officer (CMO) required permission and funds from the Authority.

However, after taking cognisance of a TOI report dated October 16 which highlighted the dilapidated state of the mortuary, including non-functional equipment, broken doors and foul smell, the Authority issued formal orders for handing over the mortuary to the CMO office last week.

The Authority has also started the process of repair of the generator, which had not been functioning for the past three months.

"The Noida Authority CEO took cognisance of the TOI report and apprised us that the orders for handing over the mortuary to the CMO office have been issued. The process has been initiated by Noida Authority and we will get the letter by Monday. We will now seek funds from the state government for maintenance and repair work of the equipment," CMO Anurag Bhargava said.

Authority CEO Alok Tandon confirmed the development. "We have issued the orders for handing over the mortuary to the CMO office last week. Directions have been issued to the project engineer concerned to this affect," Tandon said.

Meanwhile, CMO Bhargava said, "We will now seek funds sanctioned by the UP health department and get the repair work done." Sources in the CMO office said that the department would not have no excuse for the pending repair work.

On October 16, TOI had reported that the mortuary staff are forced to work with the foul smell emanating from the bodies as three of the four deep freezers are not working.

Often, they have to chase dogs, which enter the room where bodies are kept through the broken doors. Seven air-conditioners are also malfunctional.

Only two bodies can be kept preserved at a time, while as many as seven bodies are brought by police to the mortuary at times.