Family forced to carry body of relative home on two-wheeler in Andhra Pradesh as government hospital has no ambulance

The family of a deceased man in Andhra Pradesh was forced to transport his body to their home on a two-wheeler for about 10 km as the hospital did not have an ambulance for the purpose and private vehicles demanded up to ₹2,000 to carry the body. The incident, which lays bare glaring gaps in basic public health infrastructure, occurred in Karlapalem mandal of Bapatla district on Tuesday.

Nakka Nageswara Rao of Rallacheruvu hamlet in Chintayapalem panchayat reportedly suffered severe chest pain and his family members rushed him on a two-wheeler to the Bapatla Area Hospital. When they reached the hospital, doctors declared him brought dead.

The grieving family then approached private auto drivers to take the body back to their house in the village. However, the auto drivers demanded up to ₹2,000 to carry the body, which the impoverished family could not afford. Left with no other option, they carried the body on the same two-wheeler to their home for about 10 km.

The incident, which occurred close to the district headquarters, has sparked public outrage.

Reacting to the incident, the YSRCP accused the State government of failure to ensure availability of even basic ambulance service to people. “When the family sought a vehicle to take the body home, they were asked to pay thousands. With empty pockets and no official help, the grieving relatives carried the body for nearly 10 kilometres on a bike. This humiliation happened near a district headquarters. Not in a forest. Not in an inaccessible region,” the party highlighted in a post on X.

Following media reports, District Collector Dr. V. Vinod Kumar ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the incident. Speaking to The Hindu, he said that there was no ‘Mahaprasthanam’ (hearse service) vehicle currently available at the Bapatla Area Hospital. He said that such vehicles are allotted to hospitals based on the number of deaths recorded and that the Bapatla hospital had not qualified so far due to relatively low mortality figures.

However, the Collector made it clear that families of patients who die while undergoing treatment in government hospitals are not required to bear transportation costs. He assured that the government would provide necessary assistance to indigent families from available funds.

The Collector issued a circular instructing that in unavoidable situations, hospital authorities must ensure ambulance arrangements or provide financial assistance before releasing bodies. He also announced plans to convene a district-level meeting with police, Regional Transport Officers, health officials and private ambulance operators to regulate ambulance charges.

The incident has renewed demands for strengthening humane healthcare services at peripheral hospitals.