Wrap-up: Deadly burden

Last week has been terrible for Odisha as not one but two instances of disturbing approach to the dead have surfaced.

In a shocking incident, a man hailing from Odisha’s remote Kalahandi district had to carry the body of his wife out of the hospital on his shoulders after he failed to obtain a government mortuary van or an ambulance from the hospital authorities.

The incident occurred on Thursday in Kalahandi district headquarters town Bhwanipatna, around 550 km from Bhubneshwar when 42-year-old Amang Dei, who was being treated for tuberculosis at the district headquarters hospital, died late on Wednesday night. Despite all his efforts, Amang’s husband Dana Majhi was not able to avail an ambulance till Thursday morning. Out of sheer desperation, he wrapped the body of his wife in piece of bed-sheet and carried it on his shoulders.