Odisha Govt Issues Guidelines To Treat Dead Bodies With Dignity

Bhubaneswar: Days after drawing flak from various quarters over the Dana Majhi incident,  the Odisha government on Wednesday notified guidelines on disposal of deceased in health facilities.

According to the guidelines issued by Health and Family Welfare department, the dead body must be treated with all dignity and respect.

“The dead body must be treated with all dignity and respect. On no account should a dead body, whether the medico-legal or non-MLC case, unclaimed or not, be allowed to be carried on shoulders, or strung on a pole, or in any manner that compromises the dignity of the dead,” said the guidelines.

“The body should be carried on a stretcher/cot as far as possible. The body should also be kept appropriately in a designated place till all formalities are disposed of,” it added.

Police Stations in rural areas would get Rs 1500 for transportation of dead bodies while Rs 1000 in the case of urban areas and Rs 2000 for unusual cases, said the notification.

It further said that if any suspicious carriage/movement by some persons of a dead body is detected by hospital staff or security personnel, the person moving the dead body should be asked to produce the Death Slip failing which such unauthorized movement of the body should be stopped.

The matter should be brought to the notice of medical officer/ staff nurse on duty in the institution. Upon getting such information, the medical officer on duty shall verify all documents and only on being satisfied as to their genuineness, shall allow the body to exit the hospital, said the notification.

“Appropriate records and registers should be maintained at all times to maintain proper record of the cases. The family should not be made to wait unnecessarily for completion of formalities. Rather the help desks and paramedical staff should be sensitized appropriately to help the family in this situation,” said the notification.