Relatives horrified to find cadavers eaten
GERARD DE SOUZA
gerard@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Services at the Goa Medical College and Hospital morgue touched a new low, with relatives who came to claim the bodies of their dear ones, horrified to find that the cadavers were eaten by rats. Even more bewildering is the response of the morgue keepers who said that they have not been able to eradicate the rat menace despite their best efforts.
Relatives who are already grieving over the loss of their dear ones and want closure, have to now contend with the pitiable sight of the ears and cheeks of their dear ones, eaten away, exposing the teeth and in other cases even the eyeballs and noses were eaten. This is not a one off case as relatives alleged and GMC officials admitted.
Truth they say is harsher than fiction. But this case – it could be said – borders more on the bizarre and exposes the callousness of a government that was harping on the inefficiency of the previous government in the health sector but till date has not been able to get its act together.
The rats continue to run amok within the morgue at the hospital as the government scrambles for answers, much like its politics, many would say.
The government has also got another morgue ready but there has been a delay in inaugurating this new state-of-the-art morgue.
Speaking to Herald, on the condition of anonymity, an undertaker said that he encountered a case on Saturday when not a client, but one of his own relatives was food for rodents right within the cubicles of the morgue.
“We had put the body on December 11 since some relatives had to come from abroad. However, when at 4:30 am I went to dress the body as the funeral was scheduled for that morning I was shocked to see that her ear and entire left cheek was eaten up exposing the teeth,” the undertaker told Herald.
He said that he had to then bandage the eaten part in order that it would not be exposed to the mourners at the funeral.
This isn’t the first case, as sources reveal that there have been several instances in north Goa itself where parts of bodies were eaten up. In another case, an eye was eaten up and in yet another case parts of the face were gnawed by rats.
GMC authorities have admitted that it is a problem and have said that they will take action against the rodent menace.
“It is true that we are facing a rodent menace within the morgue. We are trying our best to have it dealt with. We even hired an agency to ensure that the rodents were removed,” Dr Sapeco told Herald.
“The rats seem to prefer to go to the cadavers than eat the rat poison. Even if we put rat traps they escape the traps,” he said even as he assured that such instances would not take place again.
The hospital is manned by capable staff who do stellar work, patients who have been spoken to admit, but argue that governments over time have used the premier medical institution in the state to further their own aims and push forward their own agenda instead of concentrating and improving the facilities and supporting the staff.
