As the world observes yet another Cancer Day on Friday, the Cochin Cancer Research Centre (CCRC) remains a half-baked facility nearly eight years after its foundation stone was laid with much fanfare.
At present, CCRC functions out of a building at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kalamassery, with very limited facilities and a staff strength of 70, including doctors and non-medical staff. Though there is an outpatient wing, the treatment facilities remain far from adequate.
“Patients requiring radiation are referred to the Ernakulam General Hospital making it a far from ideal arrangement considering the physical state of patients. Since the centre offers only daycare chemotherapy, stronger medicines cannot be administered in the absence of an ICU facility,” said N.K. Sanilkumar, an active volunteer of the Justice Krishna Iyer Movement that has been spearheading the campaign for CCRC from the very outset. For surgeries, MCH has allotted a single room alongside its operation theatre.
CCRC has had a chequered history since the foundation stone was laid in August 2014. Though the facility was promised to be up and running within two years, there was hardly any progress for the next two years. Later, a building of MCH was renovated at ₹10 crore from where it continues to function till day.
Litigation
The prolonged litigation, in the High Court and then in a lower court, initiated by the first contractor led to a suspension of works for nearly a year.
“Despite being a ₹400-crore project, a contractor with hardly any expertise in constructing hospitals was initially engaged before the collapse of a section of the construction led to his eventual expulsion. Crucial time was lost and the outbreak of the pandemic has caused serious disruptions in the treatment of cancer patients who are more vulnerable as they are immunocompromised,” said Dr. Sanilkumar.
The construction was resumed by a new contractor two months ago under the supervision of Infrastructure Kerala Ltd. (INKEL), the special purpose vehicle executing the work on CCRC. “We have set a deadline of 18 months for the completion of the project. The work is progressing as per that schedule and casting of two floors of the proposed eight floors has been completed,” said N. Sasidharan Nair, managing director, INKEL.
