Denied hearse, family forced to carry man’s body on rickshaw in UP

In another shocking case of apathy, a family was forced to carry the body of a man on a rickshaw in Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh as no hearse van was available for the purpose. Reacting to the incident, Chief Medical Officer of the area, Dr R Chandra conceded that there is no hearse van facility at the community health centre level.

“We have two hearse vans at district level, the facility isn't available at CHC (Community Health Centre) level and body can't be taken in an ambulance,” said the Chief Medical Officer.

#Barabanki: Children carry their father's body home on a rikshaw in absence of a hearse van. Chief Medical Officer Dr. R.Chandra says,'We have 2 hearse vans at district level, the facility isn't availabe at CHC(Community Health Centre) level & body can't be taken in an ambulance' pic.twitter.com/n6A8fncllv

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 27, 2018

This is not the first such case of medical apathy in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier in March, a 37-year-old man was forced to carry his sick wife on a handcart after he was allegedly denied an ambulance and a hearse van. The man had to walk for around 8 km to reach Maharaja Tej Singh District Hospital in Mainpuri.

The woman was declared brought dead on arrival at the hospital. Later, he was allegedly denied a hearse van and had to take the body home on the handcart. He uses the handcart to sell vegetables at Hariharpur village.

The man named Kanhaiya Lal said his wife Soni (35) complained of breathlessness and when he called for an ambulance to go to the hospital, it did not arrive, so he took her to the hospital in his handcart.

In another such instance in Uttar Pradesh in February, a man was forced to carry the body of his relative on his shoulder outside a government hospital in Sambhal. According to reports, the man was allegedly denied a stretcher and later an ambulance by the hospital administration.

The man had to carry the body on his shoulder and bring it outside the hospital. Following this, he carried the body to his village, at a distance of more than 5 km from the hospital, on a motorcycle.