Assam: Jorhat Medical Condemned by Locals for Failure to Preserve British National’s Body

Jorhat, February 5, 2020:

The body of the 81-year-old British national who passed away recently in Jorhat district of Assam still lies in the morgue of the Jorhat Medical College & Hospital (JMCH).

According to a local, the JMCH does not have the required amenities to preserve the body. “72 hours have passed since the British national’s death. However, the hospital, which is also a medical institute lacks adequate facilities. They don’t have coffins that can preserve a dead body for a longer period of time. They don’t have temperature-control coffin to keep the body,” said the local.

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It may be mentioned here that Alistair Neil Macdonald, the 81-year-old British tourist had died on a cruise boat (Charaideo II) that was reportedly on a cruise along the mighty Brahmaputra river.

"The coffin to preserve his body was brought in from Torajan, a nearby area," added the local. The Jorhat Medical College & Hospital (JMCH) has drawn criticism from locals for its inefficiency. Being the second-most important medical institute in Upper Asam, after the Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh, the JMCH should have adequate facilities to provide medical treatment, lack of which is an embarrassment, said the local.

“It is sad that JMCH is unable to keep a tourist’s body. Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is also to be blamed. He is only running a business; the business of buying and selling Ministers. He has no interest in the health department. Whenever there is a gathering of people, he announces the establishment of a new medical college but he does not care about the later stage. There are no operators here even to do the CT Scan.”

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The locals have urged the Health Minister to visit the hospitals in Delhi along with the election campaigning, learn the functioning and then apply it in the Assam Hospitals.

“We request the government to look into the functioning of the hospitals here,” added the member of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS).

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