British Tourist Interred in Assam after Government Hospital Fails to Preserve Body

Jorhat, February 6, 2020:

Amid thick plumes of smoke, Assam bid adieu to Alistair Neil Macdonald, whose death caused sensation across Assam after it came to light that a Government Hospital in Jorhat lacked adequate facilities to preserve his body. Around 1:30 pm, the body of British tourist Macdonald, who died aboard a cruise ship that was headed up the Brahmaputra in Assam, was fed to the flames.

"He was a British citizen, he expired in Nimatighat. His body was processed and kept in the preservation chambers. We had appealed to the British Embassy to dispose the body. The British High Commission informed Flona M. Macdonald, first cousin of the deceased, has authorized the Indian Rescue and Funeral Service to locally inter the deceased", an official informed Inside Northeast.

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It may be mentioned that the death of the 84-year-old elderly Britisher caused sensation in Assam after it came to light that the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) temperature control coffins to preserve his corpse.

The unfortinate Macdonald had died on a cruise boat (Charaideo II) that was reportedly on a cruise along the mighty Brahmaputra river.

“The coffin to preserve his body was brought in from Torajan, a nearby area,” added the local. The Jorhat Medical College & Hospital (JMCH) has drawn criticism from locals for its inefficiency. Being the second-most important medical institute in Upper Asam, after the Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh, the JMCH should have adequate facilities to provide medical treatment, lack of which is an embarrassment, informed a local.

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“It is sad that JMCH is unable to keep a tourist’s body. Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is also to be blamed. He is only running a business; the business of buying and selling Ministers. He has no interest in the health department. Whenever there is a gathering of people, he announces the establishment of a new medical college but he does not care about the later stage. There are no operators here even to do the CT Scan.”

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