WARANGAL: A body was bitten by rodents at the Wardhannapet Government Hospital mortuary on Sunday, exposing the lack of basic facilities, including cold storage units, at the facility.
The body of Gare Veeraiah, a resident of Raiparthy in Warangal district who died in a road accident on Saturday evening, was brought to the hospital mortuary for postmortem. The body was kept there overnight, with the postmortem scheduled for Sunday.
On Sunday morning, Veeraiah’s family members found injuries near his left eye, which they said were rat bites. They questioned hospital staff and alleged that the mortuary lacked basic facilities, including a freezer to preserve bodies.
A hospital staff member, speaking to TNIE on condition of anonymity, said the mortuary has no cold storage units or electricity connection. Bodies brought for postmortem at night are kept on stretchers until the examination the following day, the staff member said.
Electricity & freezer unit sought: Hospital superintendent
Hospital superintendent Dr B Vireen confirmed to TNIE that rodents had bitten the body. He said the mortuary is located near a graveyard and away from the main hospital building, with one staff member assigned to conduct autopsies.
“We arranged a temporary freezer. There is an electricity problem in the mortuary. We have submitted a representation to the Wardhannapet Municipal Commissioner seeking power supply, but there has been no response,” he added.
Dr Vireen said the hospital had also sought a permanent cold storage unit and appealed to higher authorities for necessary infrastructure and power supply.
According to hospital officials, the state government has not yet responded to the hospital’s request for a permanent cold storage facility.
