Family Forced to Carry Deceased Relative on Shoulders After No Hearse Provided at Telangana Government Hospital; Probe Ordered

Kandi Venkanna, aged 45 and a resident of Bhadrachalam, suffered heatstroke last week amid intense heat conditions after being unable to withstand the extreme temperatures. He was admitted to a nearby government hospital, where he died during treatment.

Following his death, the family reportedly did not receive a hearse vehicle to transport the body. In the absence of immediate official assistance, relatives along with local residents were forced to carry the body manually for approximately four kilometres, a scene that left bystanders distressed and angered.

The incident came to public attention after videos and photographs circulated widely on social media, prompting intervention from hospital and district authorities. Officials subsequently acknowledged the matter and ordered a preliminary inquiry into the circumstances that led to the delay in providing mortuary transport, despite its reported availability at the facility.

The matter quickly escalated into a political controversy. Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders criticised the Congress government over the state of healthcare and emergency services in Telangana.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi working president K. T. Rama Rao stated that the incident reflected a deterioration in governance, alleging that the state had been pushed into “distress and humiliation” under the current administration. He further claimed that during the previous government led by K. Chandrashekar Rao, mortuary transport services ensured dignity in the final journey of economically weaker sections, while such services were now allegedly failing the public.

He also alleged that significant government expenditure was being directed towards publicity campaigns, political tours, and events, while basic emergency services for vulnerable families were being neglected.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader T. Harish Rao also criticised the administration, describing the state of public healthcare services as deeply disturbing. He questioned the functioning of emergency ambulance systems, including the 108 emergency service network and hearse vehicle services introduced during the previous administration, stating that these systems were intended to support poor and vulnerable families during medical emergencies, childbirth, illness, and death.

Authorities have initiated a preliminary inquiry into the incident to determine why the hearse vehicle was not provided in time and whether procedural or administrative lapses occurred.

The incident has highlighted serious concerns over the functioning of emergency medical transport services and raised questions regarding accountability in government healthcare infrastructure during critical situations involving loss of life.