Sundaragada: The family of an 18-year-old youth who died in a landslide at an alleged unauthorised manganese mining site in Sundargarh district has been unable to perform his last rites as his post-mortem examination remained pending for nearly two days due to the ongoing ceasework by government doctors, officials said on Friday.
The deceased, a resident of Koida area in Sundargarh district, was among a group of people who had reportedly entered an unauthorised manganese mining site in a forested area on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
According to Koida police, continuous rainfall over the preceding days had weakened the soil, triggering a landslide that buried two people under the debris.
The youth, identified as Krish Katshav, was rescued and taken to a hospital at Joda in neighbouring Kendujhar district, where doctors declared him brought dead. Another victim, a minor boy, sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in the Joda area, police said.
The body was initially shifted to Badabil hospital for post-mortem examination. However, the autopsy could not be conducted as doctors have been on ceasework since Wednesday, delaying the release of the body to the bereaved family, reports said.
On Friday morning, the body was transferred to the district headquarters hospital in Kendujhar for the post-mortem examination, reports added.
Around 8,000 doctors affiliated with the Odisha Medical Services Association have been observing a ceasework agitation at district headquarters hospitals as well as health facilities in sub-divisions and rural areas across the state since Wednesday.
The agitation has disrupted healthcare services, with officials acknowledging that patient care in district and rural hospitals has been adversely affected.
