Chatra: The freezer at the Chatra Sadar Hospital mortuary has been lying defunct for the past few days, forcing staff to keep corpses without refrigeration. This has led to foul smell and unsanitary conditions in and around the facility, patients and attendants visiting the hospital besides area residents said.The mortuary deep freezer has the capacity to store only one body.The body of one Manohar Rana, a resident of Barisakhi panchayat under Gidhaur block, who had died in a road accident was recently brought to the hospital. The body was kept overnight without refrigeration, sources said.Sumit Kumar of Giddhaur said, “The stench makes it impossible to wait in the area. Biomedical waste lies scattered near the premises.”Barisakhi panchayat deputy mukhiya Vikas Pandey said, “The absence of functional cold storage worsened the situation.”Locals demanded immediate repair of the freezer, better waste management, and better sanitation at the post-mortem facility.Locals also flagged another concern: the absence of a separate access road to the mortuary. “Bodies are taken through the hospital’s main entrance, often passing by patients and their attendants. This causes discomfort and panic, especially when decomposed bodies are transported through crowded areas,” he added.Hospital deputy superintendent Dr Pankaj Kumar said, “The agency concerned has been informed about the malfunction. We expect the freezer to be repaired after Holi. Cleaning is carried out regularly and the process to build a separate road to the post-mortem house has been initiated.”
