Kozhikode: The state budget announced on Friday allocated Rs 100 crore for the Government Mental Health Centre, Kuthiravattam, here which was struggling to expand and modernise but ran into an acute fund crunch. The ‘Isaac effect’ came at a time a campaign was on across the district and social networking groups for the all out development of the hospital in tune with the modern treatment trends in mental health care.
Mental hospital superintendent Dr N Rajendran told DC that the move was a result of years of demanding a comprehensive master plan of the hospital. “Once the envisaged project takes off, the hospital will have facilities on the lines of centres like NIMHANS, Bangalore and hopefully, would attract patients from outside”, he added.
The hospital currently has nearly 20 acres of land with old buildings. This can be renovated and used for the inmates of the centre. Currently the centre has a 474-bed space. “This is the most important ‘developmental’ project that Kozhikode was waiting for. A sane mind is the crux of all development,” said Disrict Collector N. Prasanth, who successfully campaigned for the project.
Other major projects announced for the district were the Olympian Rahman multi-purpose indoor stadium, Kuttiady bypass (Rs 10 crore), Perambra bypass (Rs 15 crore), Karaparamba-Thadambattuthazham-Paroppadi road expansion (Rs 15 crore), Puthiyangadi-Malikkadavu-Karaparamba road (Rs 10 crore) and Kozhikode-Balussery road ('25 crore). The district also gets the Beypore-Cheruvannur four-lane road ('25 crore) and Kadalundi-Tirur road.
