Shimla, Nov. 11 -- Owing to low awareness and religious beliefs, Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and hospital has received only 10 cadavers since 2008 when the Deh Daan Simiti initiative was started. The IGMC has registered nearly 450 persons who have offered to donate their bodies for medical research but the college has got just 10 cadavers of which four were unclaimed bodies. The hospital received its tenth cadaver on November 10, as honouring last respect, family members of 97-year-old Mangat Ram Chauhan, a renowned social reformer and former Panchayat head from Kotkhai in district Shimla who died at his native village, Domehar, Kotkhai, district Shimla of heart attack donated his body to Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla. Chauhan had donated his body to IGMC in 2014 and directed his family not to carry out any ritual after his death. On November 10, his body was handed over to the hospital with his message that every part of the body should be for the betterment of human life and science. A matriculate in pre-independence India, Chauhan was among first to build durable assets for panchayat, Kairi, he headed for 10 years. During his tenure he allocated huge amount of land to the poor and planted an orchard for the panchayat in about 60 bigha, which provides an annual income of about Rs.30 lakh annually. The panchayat under him won the best panchayat in Asia award. At an age of 50, he gave almost all his property to his children and started an education trust for poor and orphan children. Over 50 children were provided residential facilities till college level and coaching for entrance exams. Many of the children educated at Giri Gyan Vidya Jyoti Trust, Kotkhai, are in government jobs and professional jobs. The trust was fully family funded and through donors. Anju Pratap Kaundal, head, Department of Anatomy, IGMC, said: "With the body donated today so far only 10 cadavers have been donated since 2008."...