With authorities at Shaheed Babu Labh Singh Civil Hospital in Jalandhar having failed to make arrangements to lift garbage after a private company ended its contract in May, the mortuary has become a spot for dumping garbage.

On an average, it gets five bodies a day, and eight of the freezers remain booked at most times. The building is located at the rear side of the hospital, and windowpanes are broken. The area around the mortuary has turned a parking lot for people coming to markets on Old GT Road. This resulted in a hearse van getting stuck here for an hour due to haphazard parking. A representative of a local NGO, on the condition of anonymity, said he had been volunteering at the hospital for 20 years, and unidentified bodies were kept in a negligent manner: “Sometimes, we have to supply ice slabs.”
The dead matter: HT Spotlight on state of Punjab’s mortuaries
Medical superintendent Veena Pal said that when the waste-management company was engaged, there was no problem of garbage. “However, I have talked to the municipal corporation to lift the waste from there.”
{{/usCountry}}Medical superintendent Veena Pal said that when the waste-management company was engaged, there was no problem of garbage. “However, I have talked to the municipal corporation to lift the waste from there.”
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