Change Maker! Mumbaikar Wins 3-Year-Long Battle For New Morgue Under #DignityInDeath Campaign

Renu Kapoor, 64, is a chartered accountant by profession and a changemaker by choice. Her long-running digital campaign #DignityInDeath culminated in a victory this week after the Maharashtra Government issued a work order that effectively gives the green light for a new morgue and autopsy centre at St. George's Hospital in Mumbai.

She started the petition in April 2018, a year after seeing the poor state of the morgue and autopsy centre at the hospital, which is a heritage site. Kapoor reached out to more than 98,000 people and garnered their support for her campaign.

What Motivated Kapoor To Begin The Petition?

"In April 2017, I had gone to the morgue at St. George's where my driver, Manoj's body, was being kept after he died from septicemia. I cannot forget the sight of a sweeper in a torn blood-stained vest, wielding a surgical instrument while standing over a corpse. Bodies were stacked like carcasses in a butcher's shop. I couldn't erase that ghastly image from my memory. That incident is what drove me to start this campaign in the first place. I hope the Government of India will amend the provisions of the centuries-old Criminal Procedural Act so that it specifies that only qualified doctors are authorised to conduct post-mortems," Kapoor said.

People Volunteered To Translate Petition

Her petition also got circulated in Gujarati and Marathi after fellow citizens volunteered to translate it. In the course of more than three years, Renu met numerous officials, including the medical superintendent of the hospital, the Collector of Mumbai, the Guardian Minister of Mumbai, the chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, and the head of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, Ministry of Health, Government of Maharashtra, among others.

Nida Hassan, the Country Director of Change.org, said, "Renu Kapoor is an inspiration to us all by showing us how any citizen with single-minded focus and resolve can use digital tools to raise their voice about something that matters to them and create the change they want to see. We at change.org are so proud of the way she has campaigned. It's all because of her efforts that her city will have a new morgue soon".

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