A mounting backlog of unclaimed and unattended bodies has pushed the mortuary at Thrissur Government Medical College Hospital to the brink, leaving virtually no space to accommodate new bodies.As many as 26 bodies, including those of people whose relatives have either not been traced or are unwilling to claim them, have been lying in the hospital mortuary for months awaiting cremation.The hospital has a total storage capacity of 29 bodies in the forensic and emergency departments. With 26 chambers currently occupied, only a handful of spaces remain available to deal with fresh cases.Hospital authorities said the delay in removing and cremating the bodies was the main reason for the crisis. Bodies that remain unclaimed require a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the police before they can be cremated. The responsibility for arranging the final rites rests with the respective local bodies.The situation has raised concerns in the Forensic Medicine Department, which conducts an average of 12 post-mortems a day. If the mortuary runs out of storage space, post-mortem procedures could also be disrupted, hospital authorities warned.In such a situation, newly received bodies may have to be transported to mortuaries at other hospitals in the district, creating additional logistical and administrative challenges.The Avanur panchayat has also highlighted the practical difficulties involved in disposing of unclaimed bodies.Panchayat president Mini Haridas said the local body does not have its own crematorium and normally arranges cremations at the Laloor and Kuriatchira crematoriums under the Thrissur Corporation.However, with renovation work under way at these facilities, the panchayat is currently forced to take the bodies to Shanthitheeram crematorium in Shoranur municipality.Each cremation costs the panchayat around ₹7,000, apart from the use of a panchayat vehicle and the services of two employees.With 26 bodies occupying the medical college mortuary, authorities fear that the continuing delay could soon turn a storage problem into a crisis for the hospital’s vital forensic and emergency services. Published - August 25, 2026 07:18 pm IST