With no hearse in place at the Subarnapur District Headquarters Hospital (DHH), a man had to carry his wife’s body on a Thela (hand-pulled trolley) a long way to the cremation ground for final rites.
Worse, he had to cremate the body alone as no one came forward to help him. The deceased was identified as 65-year-old Sumitra Mohapatra, wife of Achyut Mohapatra of Kumarkelai village under the Sonepur Sadar police limits.
According to reports, Achyut and his family resided in a thatched house near Birmaharajpur Government College for the last couple of years. Achyut used to make both ends meet by pulling a trolley. He admitted his wife Sumitra to DHH on October 4 after she suffered from a fever.
However, she didn’t recoup and breathed her last at 8 am on Saturday. Despite attempts, the family members didn’t get a hearse from the hospital to take the body for cremation. Since the family had no money to hire a vehicle, Achyuta finally carried the body on his trolley to the cremation ground near the college road.
The incident sparked outrage among the locals. They condemned the callousness of the hospital authorities.