No rest for the dead: No ghusal, no burial — unidentified bodies pile up at Mayo Hospital morgue

PSO to DCO says this is the first he has heard of it

LAHORE: As many as 22 unidentified bodies have been brought to Mayo Hospital’s morgue since the Miani Sahib Graveyard’s administration shut down its ghusal khana, where the deceased are washed before burial, two weeks ago. 

Police officials said six bodies, collected from Bhati Gate police area, four from Data Darbar police area, two from Civil Lines police precincts, two from Qila Gujjar Singh, one from Batapur, one from Lorry Adda, one from Old Anarkali, one from Mughalpura, one from Yakki Gate, one from Mozang, one from Shahdara, and one from Shafiqbad had been brought to the morgue so far.

A spokesperson for Edhi Foundation said the Miani Sahib Graveyard’s administration had refused to provide the facility of ghusal for the past two weeks. “They say a new facility is being constructed.”

He said the administration should have arranged an alternative facility before starting construction on a new ghusal khana.

He said they had pending calls for burial of bodies since as early as July 27. Though burying unidentified bodies is the city district government’s job, the Edhi Foundation had volunteered to take it on, he said.  “The least the government can do is to not deny the dead a washing facility before they are buried.” He said that if the graveyard administration continued the construction of the facilities at a snail’s pace, the situation could turn into an alarming one.

“One or two unidentified bodies are picked from various parts of the city every day.”   PSO to Lahore DCO Tariq Zaman, however, said the ghusal khana was operational.

“You are the first person to complain about it…if anyone has a complaint about it, they could write to the DCO’s office.” Anjum Gilani, in charge of the Miani Sahib Graveyard’s administration, was unavailable for comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2015.