COIMBATORE: Coimbatore is among the districts that strictly enforce the state government's free hearse service for transporting deceased persons from government medical institutions to their homes or burial grounds, handling over 1,000 cases every month.
According to official data, Coimbatore handled 11,767 cases between April 2025 and March 2026. In the current financial year, in just four months from April to July 2026, the district handled 4,182 cases — an average of 1,045 cases per month.
The service is offered free of cost from the government medical college hospitals, district headquarters hospitals and other government hospitals. Officials attribute the high caseload in Coimbatore to the heavy patient inflow at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH), which serves not only Coimbatore but also neighbouring districts.
Other districts under the Coimbatore region have also reported steady numbers. Salem handled 7,459 cases in 2025-26 and 2,606 cases between April and July 2026; Tiruchy, 6,444 and 2,178 cases; Tiruppur, 4,868 and 1,708 cases, and Erode, 4,797 and 1,780 cases during the same period. Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Karur, Krishnagiri, Namakkal, Perambalur and The Nilgiris too have reported consistent demand.
The free hearse service in Tamil Nadu is a public-private partnership initiative implemented under the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project (TNHSP) and is managed by GVK-EMRI Green Health Services, which also operates the state's 108 emergency ambulance network.
Authorities said strict monitoring is in place to ensure no family is forced to hire a private ambulance and that hearse vans are available round-the-clock.
At present, Coimbatore has 12 hearse vehicles — nine stationed at CMCH, which alone handles over 900 cases a month on average, and three at ESI Hospital, Varadharajapuram, and the GHs at Pollachi and Mettupalayam, where the monthly caseload is below 50.