Reiterating that the government will take necessary steps to set up a cancer institute in Kochi, Health Minister V S Sivakumar said here on Thursday that further steps will be taken to carry forward the project at the high-level meet that will be convened on December 27.
The meeting in the presence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will be held at the Ernakulam Guest House.
“Following the instructions of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who received a memorandum at the Mass Contact Programme demanding a cancer institute in Kochi, we asked the director of Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Thiruvananthapuram to prepare a preliminary report on starting the cancer institute in Kochi. The report is ready and we will discuss it at the meeting,” he said.
The minister was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Regional Drug Testing Laboratory at Thrikkakkara.
However, the minister said the plan is to set up the institute with the help of the Union Government and it is too early to comment in this regard.
Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Excise and Ports Minister K Babu said there are no confusions regarding setting up the cancer institute in Kochi.
“There were certain negative reports regarding the launch of cancer institute project. It was as per the instructions of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy that the Health Minister announced the project. There are no confusions in taking the project forward and the cancer institute will become a reality soon,” Babu added.
The government is planning to set up the cancer institute at the campus of the Cochin Medical College (CMC) at Kalamassery. The Co-operative Medical College was recently taken over by the Government and the authorities are planning to set up the cancer institute at the 35 acres of land that is now lying unutilised at the area where the medical college is situated.