CM Pinarayi Vijayan promises Cochin Cancer Research Centre by 2020

KOCHI: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said that the Cochin Cancer Research Centre (CCRC) will become a reality in 2020 with the work on its own building and procurement of equipment and deployment of personnel getting completed by then. He said this while laying the foundation stone for the own building of CCRC at a function on the Ernakulam Government Medical College campus.

He said that works will be undertaken without delay and the project will be materialized on time. He said that the idea of CCRC stemmed from the fact that Central Kerala does not have a major cancer centre while Malabar has Malabar Cancer Centre and South Kerala has Regional Cancer Centre. “The number of cancer cases is increasing and hence the relevance of another cancer centre. Already the OP wing of the CCRC functioning in a disciplined manner and has taken care of a lot of patients,” he said adding that CCRC brings the memories of Justice V R Krishna Iyer who sowed the seeds for it and campaigned for it.

The Chief Minister exhorted the scientific community to undertake research as to find out how the number of cancer patients increases year after year. He said that food adulteration, use of chemicals and lifestyle anomalies too are contributing to cancers. The government arms including the food safety department will make strong interventions to ensure a clean atmosphere on this count. He said that cancer care is being introduced to all medical colleges and district hospitals in order to decentralize the care system.

Speaking on the occasion Health Minister K K Shylaja pointed out that each year 50,000 new cancer cases are being reported from the state and the government is viewing the situation seriously and taking multi-pronged strategies to address the issue. She said that preparation of a cancer registry is also underway. Education Minister Prof C Raveendranath also spoke on the occasion. MLAs V K Ebrahim Kunju, Hibi Eden, Anwar Sadath, Antony John, KJ Maxia and John Fernandez, Prof M K Sanu also attended the function. Special officer of CCRC and District Collector Muhammed Y Safirulla welcomed the gathering while CCRC Director Dr Moni Kuriakose proposed a vote of thanks. 

The Detailed Project Report of the Rs 380 crore project was prepared by an expert team led by CCRC medical superintendent Dr P G Balagopal in 2017 September and KIIFB approved the same in February this year.The works are set to begin this month since all clearance for the project have come including environmental clearance. The landscaping works are about to complete this month.