Doctor Turns Tractor Driver To Carry COVID Deceased For Funeral

Hyderabad: During this time of distress, donning the role of a tractor driver, a doctor in Telangana carried a COVID-19 deceased to the cremation ground for last rites on Sunday.

This incident happened in the Pedappalli district headquarters. Non-availability of an ambulance and the refusal of the tractor driver to carry the COVID-19 deceased necessitated Dr. Pendyala Sriram (45) to sit at the wheel, reported The Hindu. 

“We don’t have a mortuary to keep the body in 4 degrees temperature. The doctors were worried that other patients kept coming in and we had to keep the body there. As surveillance officer, I tried to convince the civic staff and the tractor driver. But, they were all scared. Since it being the first case in the Pedappalli government hospital, though eight in the district, they had a lot of fears,” Dr. Sriram was quoted as saying.

He briefed the family members of the deceased, provided them PPE kits, disinfected and wrapped the body as per COVID-19 protocols and drove the tractor to the cremation ground located two kilometres from the hospital.

“There was tremendous pressure to move the body quickly, as it was already four hours since the person had passed away,” he explained. He stayed with the family members of the deceased till the last rites were performed as per the custom.

Moreover, Dr. Sriram is a weekend farmer in his own farm in adjoining district, Karimnagar and hence, is familiar with driving a tractor. He also expressed hope that the staff would understand his gesture of carrying a COVID-19 deceased.