Apathy forces Odisha man to carry daughter’s dead body on shoulder for 15 kms

Angul: In a repeat of Dana Majhi episode, Gati Dhibar, a man from Odisha’s Angul district walked around 15 kilometres carrying his five-year-old daughter’s dead body on his shoulder in the absence of a hearse van.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, after Gati’s daughter died at the Palahada Community Health Centre (CHC) here.

The Pallahara Community Health Centre does not have a hearse under the Mahaprayan scheme — wherein free hearse service is provided for the underprivileged to ensure that the dead are disposed of with dignity even if their families cannot afford these services — but calls for the van stationed at the district hospital.

While expressing grief over the incident, Anil Kumar Samal, the District Collector of Angul, said an explanation has been sought from the SDMO and assured that appropriate action would be taken.

Two staff members at the hospital were suspended for negligence since they should have prevented Mr Dhibar from walking out with the body.

It may be recalled that the state government had drawn huge flak after Majhi’s episode hogged the headlines.

(With agency inputs)