In a tragic incident, a poor family carried the body of an 80-year-old woman, Chandrama Singh, on a tricycle on Tuesday after she died at the MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Behrampur, Odisha. Chandrama’s family said they had opted for this mode of transportation as they could not arrange an ambulance or hearse. On their way, some social activists intervened near the new bus stand and arranged a private ambulance to shift the body.
Dean of the MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Radha Madhab Tripathy said there was no request from the deceased’s family for arrangement to transport the body, adding: “Had we received a request, we could have arranged the free Mahaprayan hearse facility of the State government.”
Since 2016, the Odisha government has launched the mahaprayan scheme offering free hearse service from government hospitals.
