KARACHI, April 2: The city government has failed to establish five mortuaries in the city hospitals and other sites to preserve corpses as government hospitals except Civil and Jinnah hospitals are without such facility.

In his budget speech, the city nazim had earmarked Rs25 million for the purpose and announced that five morgues would be constructed in the metropolis. The city government health department had prepared PC-I at an estimated cost of Rs50.35 million, out of which half amount was earmarked in the budget.

The health department planned to establish mortuary at Korangi General Hospital, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and three other sites near the city government hospitals but this plan is in doldrums owing to apathy of the officials concerned.

In absence of morgue run by the government, hundreds of bodies every week are shifted to the Edhi Foundation’s morgue near Sohrab Goth.

“There is virtually no place in the hospitals to keep bodies and as such people have to contact Edhi Centre or perhaps the Jinnah and civil hospitals for the matter,” said a health official.

The official said, “The local government is responsible for providing hygienic places to preserve corpses across the city. Therefore, it is suggested that small mortuaries should be constructed in all government hospitals so that citizens can be saved from unnecessary impediments to access reasonable and hygienic mortuaries.”

The mortuaries in Jinnah and civil hospitals have capacity to preserve 10 to 15 bodies only and majority of bodies are preserved in Edhi Centre. The JPMC morgue is also in deteriorated condition as there were no adequate equipment and chemicals to preserve bodies or carrying out post-mortem.

“It is expected that one or two mortuaries would be functioning by the end of current fiscal year in the downtown,” EDO Health Dr A.D Sajnani said when inquired about the reasons for delay in setting up morgues.

Without giving the reason for delay in setting up morgues, he said work was in process to set up at least one or two mortuaries while rest of the mortuaries would definitely be completed in the next fiscal year.—PPI