CUTTACK: POSTMORTEM of around five bodies at the SCB medical college and hospital was halted for several hours on Monday reportedly due to seepage of sewage water into the autopsy room from a nearby sewerage system.
Sources said a sewerage pipe had cracked on Sunday night resulting in leakage of sewage water which further flowed into the postmortem room. The area was subsequently waterlogged with eight to 10 inch waste water on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, doctors of the Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (FMT) department could not conduct autopsy of the bodies which remained lying on the stretchers outside the postmortem room for several hours.
“The postmortem of the bodies was scheduled to be conducted at 9 am but was disrupted as the room got waterlogged with drain water. We informed Watco’s drainage division to release waste water and repair the damaged sewerage pipeline,” said registrar of SCB MCH Abinash Rout.
General manager, Watco, Cuttack division Debabrata Mohanty said they have already initiated steps for release of the waste water by pumping. “We have also sent the damaged sewerage pipe to lathe for necessary grinding required for fixing and fittings,” he added. The postmortem activities of the five bodies later resumed after 2 pm on the day.