Kathmandu, October 31

The Department of Forensic Medicine at the TU Teaching Hospital has increased its capacity for storing dead bodies. The department now has the capacity of storing 248 bodies.

The International Committee of the Red Cross recently handed over the newly built Cold Room to the DoFM. The Cold Room is a new facility permitting increased storage capacity at DoFM to ensure dignified treatment of human remains, ICRC said. A refrigerator unit for the storage of bodies was handed over to the DoFM in July.

With this new facility, DoFM can store up to 200 bodies. Earlier, DoFM had only one mortuary refrigerator unit with the capacity to store up to 20 bodies, whereas the mortuary refrigerator unit gifted by ICRC in July had the capacity to store up to 28 bodies.

On Thursday, ICRC had handed over the Cold Room which was jointly inaugurated by Dragana Kojic, head of ICRC Delegation in Nepal and Prof Dr Rakesh Kumar Shrivastav, dean at the Institute of Medicine, TU.

“The recent earthquake evidenced the need to increase the existing capacities of forensic facilities in Nepal in managing human remains. By ensuring dignified management of human remains we show respect for the deceased, their families and communities,” said Kojic.

The management of bodies of the quake victims had become a huge challenge after the April 25 earthquake. The bodies of persons killed by criminals and those who die after committing suicide needs to be kept for days for postmortem as per the existing laws to help police carry out investigations.

The existing collaboration between the ICRC and DoFM relating to the dignified management of the dead, including the construction of the new cold room, is funded by the Government of Japan. As part of the collaboration with DoFM, the ICRC has also provided training on Forensic Anthropology and Forensic Pathology to local forensic experts.