Angul: Photos and videos of a hearse carrying vegetables and traders in this town have gone viral drawing huge flak from the netizens.
According to eye-witnesses, the hearse (OD 05 Y-7315) had brought the body of a deceased here from the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. It was written that the hearse belonged to Red Cross society in Cuttack.
However, while the hearse was returning people at Budhi Thakurani Chowk saw it filled with vegetables and two vendors who were sitting inside the vehicle. They started taking photos and videos of the hearse as it unhygienic and unethical to carry vegetables in it.
When the persons accompanying the vegetables saw pictures being taken, they got down and ran away towards Naran tank in front of the Jagannath temple here. However, they again boarded the hearse at an isolated place.
The incident is said to have occurred Sunday but it has come to the fore recently with pictures circulating in social media.
Residents said that vegetables grown in Angul district are in high demand at Cuttack. Traders come every day to this town and buy vegetables for selling in Cuttack. However, while returning to Cuttack, these people tend to travel in government vehicles as it is less expensive than hired private cars.
In the past there have been incidents when people have suffered due to lack of hearses in hospitals. Locals here said that instead of ferrying vegetable traders the first duty of the driver should have been to return to his base as quick as possible in case someone else would need the vehicle. “The drivers of emergency service-providing vehicles should never be so casual,” they observed. “The driver and helper of the hearse in question must be disciplined,” they added.
When contacted, the CDMO of Angul DHH, Pratap Kumar Behera termed it unethical to carry anything else other than dead bodies in the hearse. “The hearse does not belong to our hospital. However, I will talk with my counterpart at SCBMCH and suggest stringent action against the errant staff,” Behera stated.
PNN
