The mismanagement at State-owned MGM Medical College and Hospital (MGMCH) came to the fore when rats feasted on a body of a 45-year-old man who died at the MGM Medical College and Hospital’s medical ward late last night.

The man whose identity is yet to be known was put on the floor after he died at about 11 pm on Saturday, but in the morning some patients saw a couple of rodents feasting on the body.  After raising alarm over the incident, the hospital administration removed the body to the MGM Medical College mortuary as there was no mortuary at the hospital. 

Sources informed that the man who died of stomach ailment has lost fingers of both of his hand hands, eyes and some portions of his nose as well as ears due to exposed in the open on the ground.

Superintendent of MGM Medical College and Hospital, RY Chowdhury confirmed that rodents are rampant in the medical college hospital and blamed the ongoing construction work at the hospital responsible for it.

Chowdhury said there are a number of reasons which are responsible for such a situation at the hospital.

“There is no mortuary at the hospital though construction of a new mortuary is in its final stage of completion.  As a result of which there is no place for keeping the unclaimed bodies.  Though we keep such bodies at the hospital for sometime, expecting that someone will turn up and claim it, but in between this wait rodents creep in,” said the superintendent.

Chowdhury, when asked, said that the menace of rodent was not new and to meet the situation they had engaged a private agency, Rodent Sidal, five months ago.

“Though the agency worked for three months and made the hospital free from the rodents, but during the past two months, the same problem has cropped up again. The unclaimed bodies are falling prey to the rodents,” he said.  He stated that they would once again engage the same private agency to end the rodents menace from the permises of the hospital.

Revealing about the new mortuary at the hospital, Chowdhury said that the mortuary building is complete, but the work of approach road and deep-boring still lies pending. “We are happy to say that the new mortuary has a capacity to accommodate six bodies.  There is provision of staff quarter close to the mortuary so that a staff will remain on guard of the mortuary round-the-clock.  For facilitating the accommodation of the staff, water supply is necessary. Therefore, we have to get a deep boring close to it.  Moreover, the work of the approach road to the mortuary is also not complete.  Therefore we are left with no option than to keep the bodies on the floor soon after  patients’ death,” explained the superintendent, adding that the problem will be solved as soon as the new mortuary starts functioning.

The matter of rodents feasting on dead body has spread a sensation at the hospital premises. “It was a very horrible scene when we looked at the body in the morning,” said a middle aged woman who was admitted at the hospital’s medical ward.

The MGMCH is a Government hospital with the facility of 540 beds. Everyday around 1000 patients come here for treatment. Several times parts of ceiling and windows have collapsed in this Government hospital. Due to lack of repair work and attention of the concerned authorities, the condition of the hospital has deteriorated to a great extent. As of now, MGM has 540 beds, 10 operation theatres, ICU and CT scan units, a blood bank and 13 departments, including emergency and gynaecology.