KOCHI: It has been two years since the excise department received clearance for a dedicated de-addiction centre for women and children in Ernakulam district, but the project remains a non-starter. Excise officials cite non-availability of space and staff for the delay, even as narcotic cases involving the demographic are seeing a rise.
It was in 2022, that former excise minister M V Govindan gave the green light for the de-addiction centre in Ernakulam. The department initially planned to start the de-addiction centre on the top floor of the Tripunithura Government Ayurveda Medical College Hospital.
“However, due to various concerns raised by college authorities, the plan was changed and Tripunithura Taluk Hospital was considered. But the taluk hospital campus is not large enough to take on another facility. While the project remains on paper, other government hospitals in the district are being examined for the project,” an excise official said.
Recruiting staff for the new centre poses another issue.
Noushad M, manager of the Vimukthi Mission in Ernakulam, said all attempts are being made to launch the project. “We are looking for an appropriate location. The project has not been cancelled,” he stressed.
Currently, there are two government-run de-addiction centres in the district. Besides the facility at Muvattupzha government hospital, a de-addiction centre operates from the Ernakulam Medical College in Kalamassery.
Between 2021 and July 2024 as many as 153 women and 147 children were arrested in narcotic cases registered by the excise department across the state.