Mysuru: ‘Shraddhanjali,’ a hearse provided by the District Administration, now rests in peace for the last one year at the premises of the office of the District Health Officer (DHO) in Nazarbad here.

A 108 Ambulance was modified to a hearse and provided by the District Administration to help poor people in rural areas to shift the bodies of their deceased kin from hospitals in city to their villages.

The transportation was free for up to a distance of 25 kms and a charge of Rs.9 per km was levied beyond that. The vehicle, painted totally black, was under the jurisdiction of K.R. Hospital. ‘Shraddhanjali’ was launched in 2018 and was operational for only 10 months before it broke down and lay idle with shrubs growing all around the defunct vehicle. 

No officer was said to have bothered to either get the hearse repaired or provide an alternative vehicle, with the poor people forced to look for other private ambulances or taxis to shift the bodies of their deceased loved ones from hospitals to their villages.

DHO Dr. Venkatesh clarified that ‘Shraddhanjali’ was indeed idle for the last one year as the Regional Transport Office has been demanding some document or the other to get the vehicle repaired. He further said that the concerned Department Engineer was on leave and expected to report for work in two days after which he assured to get the vehicle repaired. 

He observed that the vehicle is very old and had sought a replacement soon.