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Aundh District Hospital to get new mortuary cabinets: Abitkar
Abitkar said that the mortuary (morgue) of the hospital currently has three mortuary cabinets that can collectively store 10 bodies
The public health department will install new mortuary cabinets at the Aundh District Hospital (ADH) in Pune, health minister Prakash Abitkar informed the Maharashtra legislative assembly on Monday. The new cabinets will be purchased using funds from the district planning committee (DPC) after the existing units are formally written off, Abitkar said while responding to a question raised by MLA Shankar Jagtap.
Abitkar said that the mortuary (morgue) of the hospital currently has three mortuary cabinets that can collectively store 10 bodies. However, two out of these three cabinets—each with a capacity of four bodies—have become extremely old and are now beyond repair.
“Currently, only one mortuary cabinet with a capacity to store two bodies is operational at the hospital. As per the recommendation of the engineer, the process of writing off the old cabinets has been initiated,” Abitkar said. He added that once the write off process is completed, new mortuary cabinets will be procured through funds from the DPC.
The issue was previously highlighted by Hindustan Times in a report published on February 6, 2026 titled ‘Patients left in lurch as key services out of order at ADH’ that detailed the hardships faced by patients and their relatives due to several services at the hospital remaining non-functional for months on end. These included problems with the mortuary facility, a closed MRI centre and long waiting lists for intensive care unit (ICU) beds.
Abitkar further said that the hospital administration has made interim arrangements to manage mortuary requirements. “The hospital has coordinated with Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital in Pimpri-Chinchwad, located around seven kilometres away, where a mortuary facility with a capacity of 80 bodies is available,” he said.
According to the minister, the ADH conducts an average six to seven post-mortems daily. As the post-mortem facility is old, there is presently only one autopsy table, he said. During the discussion, Jagtap also raised concerns over complaints from social activists and relatives of deceased persons about hospital staff demanding ₹1,000 to ₹1,200 from families after post-mortem examinations, despite the hospital providing the necessary material such as cloth, body bags and other items free-of-cost.
Abitkar refuted the claims saying, “Although such reports appeared in the media, the hospital has not received any written complaint in this regard.” However, he was quick to add that a verification was conducted following media reports after which, the services of a contractual worker engaged under the National Health Mission were terminated on February 18, 2026.
