Bandra

Bhabha Hospital

engineers

Authorities at the BMC-run Lokmanya Tilak Hospital in Sion, better known as Sion Hospital, were forced to cremate at least 80 unidentified bodies in the last 12 days after the air-conditioning system in the morgue broke down. The hospital also transferred 18 bodies for preservation to JJ Hospital as they were either required for police investigation or were to be claimed by relatives. Officials have also requested’sfor morgue space ashave been unable to fix the air-conditioning.Sion Hospital, which has 72 cabinets in its cold storage, has always been pressed for mortuary space as it has 16 police stations under its jurisdiction. “Our morgue is always flooded with dead bodies as we get maximum number of unclaimed bodies. And despite several reminders, police stations are slow to initiate cremation procedures. Our hands too are tied as we can’t remove the bodies as it will start rotting and become a nightmare for everyone,” said Dr Rajesh Dere, head of the forensic department at Sion Hospital.According to Dr Dere, a few of the 80 bodies they cremated this week were lying in their morgue for the last two years. “At any given time, we have more than 100 bodies to store and due to lack of space, we are forced to leave a few of them on the floor of the cold storage,” said Dr Dere.He added that 18 unidentified bodies, which were brought to the hospital since August 1, were sent to JJ Hospital. “As per the law, we have to preserve such a body for seven days. I have requested all concerned police stations to cremate the bodies after this period,” said Dr Dere. The authorities have also written letters to all police stations requesting them to initiate cremation of all unclaimed bodies as soon as possible.Engineers unable to fix AC Meanwhile, the civic body has been unable to fix the air-conditioning system which broke down on July 24. “According to an engineer, who came to fix the AC, the cooling system is not functioning normally due to leakage of gas. Though it’s been 12 days now, t heyare yet to fix it. We hope they are able to get the AC up and running soon as this is causing unnecessary pressure on other hospitals,” said Dr Dere.Asenior official from JJ hospital admitted that they are “struggling for space”. “We were told they needed 20 cabinets for a week. It has been 10 days now and there is no sign of the bodies being removed. We have asked authorities at Sion Hospital to take the bodies by Monday,” said the official.