Members demand hearse facility in hospitals, heroes' gallery

A Samajwadi Party member in Rajya Sabha on Friday highlighted the plight of poor people who are forced to carry dead bodies of relatives on their own in the absence of hearse facilities in hospitals.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, Javed Ali Khan said there have been several instances where people carry bodies of their dead relatives on bicycles and motorbikes as hospitals do not provide hearse.

He also cited an incident from Kalahandi in Odisha where a man carried the dead body of his relative on head for several kilometres for cremation.

Khan demanded that all hospitals should have at least one or two hearse to carry the dead bodies to their homes.

He congratulated the Odisha government that has decided provide free facilities to take the bodies from hospitals to homes.

BJP member D P Vats demanded that a heroes' gallery showing pictures of defence personnel who have sacrificed their lives for the country be set up at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

He said elite institutions of armed forces like National Defence Academy and Army Cadet College are affiliated with the JNU. He said students passing from those institutes simultaneously become alumni of JNU.

"Therefore, I urged the HRD Minister to establish a heroes gallery in JNU displaying photographs of all martyrs and awardees with their citation.

"This will inculcate the spirit of sacrifice and dedication among the students as well as sensitise them about armed forces," Vats said.

Meanwhile, Congress member Kumari Selja raised the issue of alleged rampant illegal mining in Haryana saying such activities have an adverse impact on environment.

She alleged that illegal miners in Haryana were carrying out their activities due to "political and administrative patronage".

Vikas Mahatme (BJP) too expressed concern over illegal sand mining in various parts of the country. He said as construction activities are increasing, efforts should be made to find alternative to sand.

BJP member R K Sinha said Bhojpuri language should be included in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution. He said the language is spoken in over two dozen countries besides by 20 crore people in India.