KMC to engage ward coordinators to help people get death certificates

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to engage ward coordinators to help families get death certificates of people who die at home, an official said on Friday.

For the purpose, officer-in-charge of local police stations will be helping the ward coordinators in identifying the deceased and help families in getting the death certificate without any problem, the official said.

"We have been getting reports that doctors are refusing to write a death certificate even if there is a normal death at home in a family. There were a few instances when locals put up demonstrations against this. So we have decided to help such families by employing the ward coordinators to look into the matter," he said.

"In cases, where a doctor refuses to write a death certificate for a person who has died at home, the ward coordinator will alert the civic body officials to arrange for a proper post mortem at a medical college and hospital to help the family get the death certificate and cremate the dead body," the official added.

The ward coordinators and the OCs have been asked to help locals get free ambulance services to take patients to hospitals be it a Covid-19 case or any other disease, he added.

The ward coordinators can reach out to the KMC headquarters in case there's no ambulance available in the locality, the official said.