KOCHI: On August 18, 2014, the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy laid the foundation stone for the Cancer Centre. The Cancer Centre is to come up on the land identified on the campus of the Ernakulam Medical College. However, the project got delayed due to various reasons, including elections.
The Out Patient (OP) wing of the Cancer Centre began functioning on November 1, 2015 at the new block built on the Ernakulam Medical College campus. The OP was formally inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on November 11.
Though the OP will go operational on Tuesday, the government is still in search of a director for the Cancer Centre. “It is not necessary to have a director to start the OP.
A director is required only when the Cancer Centre opens,” said Dr Sanil Kumar, a volunteer with the Justice V R Krishna Iyer movement which has been campaigning for the centre.
A total of 12.12 acres has been earmarked for the Cancer Centre on the campus of the Government Medical College.
Meanwhile, volunteers of the Justice V R Krishna Iyer Movement said the documents regarding the appointment of the Regional Cancer Centre professor Dr Balagopal as the superintendent of Cochin Cancer Centre is still in the freezer. The movement wants CPM District secretary P Rajeev to look into the matter.