KOZHIKODE: Hundreds of patients of the Government Mental Health Centre at Kuthiravattam here will soon have a large park with modern facilities for recreation and relaxation. Many of these patients have been cured of their mental illnesses but remain to be housed in the hospital.
The ambitious project, whose foundation stone was laid by then chief minister E. K. Nayanar in 1997, has been revived by the hospital authorities with the assistance of the Social Welfares Department.
As per the plan, the park will be constructed on a 1.5-acre plot identified on the hospital premises with all modern facilities. It will have FM radio broadcast all around, sufficient swings, a badminton court, a walking path and an elaborate garden.
“It was a long-time demand of the hospital to have a separate recreational space for the patients here whose movements are now curtailed within the four walls of their cells due to the insufficient space provided to them,” said Hospital Superintendent Dr E. Mukundan.
“We have around 540 inmates, including remanded prisoners who have been admitted for treatment for mental illnesses. These patients will get an opportunity to feel the nature and enjoy the greenish environment with the completion of the work here, he added.
“Many of the inmates here continue to live in the hospital even though they are fully cured, who will be in charge of taking care of the park and garden and will expand the organic farming venture started in the hospital a few months ago,” he further said.
The hospital also kickstarted a separate rehabilitation centre for the inmates on its 23-acre plot to provide skill development training for the cured patients.
