VITHALDAS HEGDE
South Goa’s main mortuary is on the brink of a capac ity collapse as 62 out of 72 cabinets remain occupied by unclaimed bodies. The crisis at the South Goa District Hospital, Margao has been building for six weeks, reportedly due to the Margao Munic ipal Council’s (MMC) refusal to perform cre mations without cleared funds from the Collec torate. Forensic experts are now demanding a 24-hour resolution to ensure that the facility remains functional for families during the tra ditionally busy Maun dy Thursday to Easter Sunday period.
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The Department of Fo rensic Medicine of the South Goa District Hos pital, Margao has written to the South Goa Collector and the South Goa Super intendent of Police (SP), urging immediate meas ures to dispose of these bodies. Mentioning the ap proaching Good Friday weekend, Dr Madhu S G Ghodkirekar, Head of Department and Associ ate Professor of Forensic Medicine at Goa Medical College (GMC), posted at the South Goa District Hospital, Margao, noted that funerals are tradi tionally not conducted in the Catholic community from Maundy Thursday until Easter Sunday. As a result, the hospital typi cally reserves around 15 mortuary cabinets during this period. However, he stated that the mortuary has remained “housefull” for the past six weeks, as the MMC has not been arranging cremation of unclaimed bodies due to financial constraints. As of 9 am on March 30, 2026, as many as 62 out of 72 cabinets were occupied by unclaimed bod ies. Of these, 27 were related to police cases, while 18 were bodies declared dead in the hospital. Additionally, 12 cabinets are currently non-functional due to mainte nance, he has stated in the letter. Dr Ghodkirekar has pointed out that around 15 cabinets are required for routine operations, which has led to a severe shortage of space over the past month. He has warned that if urgent steps are not taken within the next 24 hours to create vacancies, it could lead to public inconvenience during the Good Friday week
