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JAIPUR: Bodies in Jaipur’s state-run SMS Hospital‘s mortuary have piled up in the past two weeks and overshot its capacity after several were picked up from roadsides amid Rajasthan‘s searing summer, fuelling fears many could be suspected heat-stroke victims.
On Sunday, Rajasthan confirmed its first heat casualty this year, 40-year-old Moti Singh of Sarana village in Ajmer.The granite worker fell ill Saturday while loading stones on a tractor trolley. He died on the way from a rural health centre to the district hospital. Until now, the govt denied any heat deaths, though the mercury’s march to 50 degrees Celsius in some districts led to claims about fatalities and grave illnesses.
The numbers at SMS Hospital’s mortuary – which has a capacity of 40 – are telling. The bodies have almost doubled to 42 from 22 on May 10. Half are of unidentified individuals. Officials said these were typically found by police on the streets.
The situation has become increasingly challenging for the hospital staff as they struggle to accommodate the growing number of bodies within the limited space.
According to officials, the surge in unidentified bodies may be attributed to heat-wave deaths but cannot be officially categorised as such as elaborate guidelines are in place for declaring such fatalities.
On Sunday, Rajasthan confirmed its first heat casualty this year, 40-year-old Moti Singh of Sarana village in Ajmer.The granite worker fell ill Saturday while loading stones on a tractor trolley. He died on the way from a rural health centre to the district hospital. Until now, the govt denied any heat deaths, though the mercury’s march to 50 degrees Celsius in some districts led to claims about fatalities and grave illnesses.
The numbers at SMS Hospital’s mortuary – which has a capacity of 40 – are telling. The bodies have almost doubled to 42 from 22 on May 10. Half are of unidentified individuals. Officials said these were typically found by police on the streets.
The situation has become increasingly challenging for the hospital staff as they struggle to accommodate the growing number of bodies within the limited space.
According to officials, the surge in unidentified bodies may be attributed to heat-wave deaths but cannot be officially categorised as such as elaborate guidelines are in place for declaring such fatalities.
