KARACHI, July 24: Two morgues with a capacity of keeping 50 or more bodies each will start functioning next month at two hospital complexes run by the city government. Such a facility will be the first of its kind at a public sector hospital.

Talking to Dawn on Thursday, EDO (Health) Dr A. D. Sajnani, said that consignments of the equipment, like cooling cabinets and systems, needed for safe keeping of bodies were arriving in the city in a couple of days.

The equipment, he said, were meant for the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and the Landhi Medical Complex where the structures for setting up mortuaries were almost ready.

Following clearance of the consignments from the port, efforts would be expedited to make the morgues functional some time in the next month, he added.

According to a source, it was over a year back that work for the setting up of five morgues in the city was initiated. Under the original plan, chalked out by the city government, morgues were to be established at five hospitals. Apart from the two hospitals mentioned by the EDO, two hospitals to have the facilities are in Ibrahim Hyderi and New Karachi whereas another one is yet to be identified.

These hospitals are to provide cold storage facilities free of cost.

However, the sources said, some financial problems and fluctuation in the foreign currency rate forced the authorities concerned to bifurcate the consignment and opt for the equipment having less capacity.

They pointed out that no such facility was available at any government sector hospital at present. The Edhi Foundation morgues often remained packed to their capacity, they added.

It is learnt that the process for the setting up of cold storage facility with a capacity of 48 bodies in the New Karachi Town has been slowed down due to a paucity of funds.

The project initiated through the MPAs’ fund was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2008.