Hyderabad: Foul smell from Gandhi unbearable, rue people

Hyderabad: Locals of Padmarao Nagar near Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad, have been subjected to unbearable stench emanating from the mortuary. According to the authorities, the mortuary needs to be maintained in a freezing environ at a certain temperature. But with the air-cooling equipment developing snags regularly, the bodies start decomposing fast resulting in emanation of foul stench that envelopes the surrounding areas.

PB Sridhar, secretary, Sheshagiri Apartments Welfare Association, shared, "This is not a new issue as it has been going on since the inception of the Hospital, we are living a hellish life. The constant malodorous smell of rotting corpses haunts us every day." The mortuary block has freezing units for 40 bodies, however, every day the hospital witnesses numerous inpatient and accidental deaths of which many are unclaimed, hence the 40-unit mortuary block is not sufficient for storage of the bodies.

The residents say that they have seen bodies being kept outside the mortuary. The block when cleaned, the water is released directly into a drain which flows in front of their apartments. The residents of nearby localities say that they are forced to put up with the stench of decaying corpses. They made several representations to the authorities concerned but all in vain.

Angry at the inaction, residents thronged the mortuary many times and narrated their woes to the authorities concerned but all their calls for help were in vain."Our children refuse to eat or sleep because of the stench. People have to shut their windows and balconies as the smell is unbearable. They assured us of getting it repaired. But nothing has been done yet," said J Thomas, secretary of Shambhavi Apartments, adjacent to the Gandhi Hospital Morgue.

With the hospital setting up the Coronavirus isolation ward, the colony residents are distressed, and many have shifted to their relatives' houses. If their plight is not resolved the residents are mulling to sell their houses and shifting away from here, concludes Sridhar.

No vote until the issue is resolved

As many as 50,000 people reside in and around Padmarao Nagar in 40 to 50 apartments and many colonies. Irked by the negligent attitude of the authorities, the residents say they would boycott voting if their issue is not resolved.

Srikanth Reddy, a resident of Gharonda Veera, says, "Every time we protest or call out dharna some minister comes and assures us the issue will be solved but nothing happens. Hence, this time the residents have decided to boycott the next elections until the mortuary is shifted."