Billiground, Sept. 2: For families dealing with the death of a loved one, the final hours before burial or cremation are expected to be handled with dignity. At PHC Billiground, however, the dilapidated condition of the mortuary is raising an uncomfortable question: are the dead being accorded the dignity they deserve?
The mortuary at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) Billiground is reportedly in poor condition and inadequate for the safe preservation of bodies and conduct of post-mortem examinations, prompting a demand for an entirely new facility.
The Pradhan of Shivapuram Gram Panchayat has now written to the Directorate of Health Services, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, seeking the construction of a modern and fully equipped mortuary at the PHC.
The demand assumes significance because PHC Billiground caters to a wide geographical area of Middle Andaman, serving residents of Basantipur, Harinagar, Swadeshnagar and Shivapuram Gram Panchayats. Its service area stretches from Govindpur to Panchawati.
When a death requires a post-mortem or a body has to be preserved before being handed over to relatives, families from these areas are dependent on the available infrastructure at the health centre.
Dignity After Death
According to the representation, the existing facility is inadequate for both preservation of bodies and post-mortem examinations, with the problems becoming particularly acute at night and during emergencies.
The concern is not merely about the condition of a government building.
A mortuary is often where grieving relatives have to spend some of their most difficult hours, identifying a body, waiting for a post-mortem to be completed or making arrangements for the deceased to be taken home for the final rites.
Poor infrastructure in such circumstances can compound the distress of families already dealing with bereavement.
The Shivapuram Pradhan has therefore sought a facility that allows bodies to be preserved and handled hygienically and with dignity, while also providing medical personnel with adequate infrastructure to conduct post-mortem examinations.
The representation has called for a proper mortuary building equipped with preservation facilities, reliable electricity and adequate lighting.
It has also sought a proper approach road or footpath so that the facility can be safely accessed at all hours, including during the night.
These requirements become particularly important because deaths and medical emergencies do not follow working hours. Bodies may have to be brought to the PHC late at night and preserved until medico-legal procedures can be completed.
New Facility Sought
The Pradhan has urged the Directorate of Health Services to treat the matter as a priority and construct a new mortuary rather than allow residents to continue depending on the existing dilapidated infrastructure.
For a PHC serving several gram panchayats across a large part of Middle Andaman, a functioning mortuary is part of essential public-health infrastructure.
Hospitals and health centres are judged primarily by the care they provide to the living. But there is another responsibility that receives far less attention, ensuring that those who die, and the families they leave behind, are treated with basic dignity.
That is ultimately at the heart of the demand from Billiground: a place where the dead can be preserved safely, post-mortems can be conducted properly, and grieving families do not have to endure failing infrastructure at an already painful moment.
