SHILLONG, April 10: After several delays, the Cancer Research Centre (CRC) at NEIGRIHMS is now finally nearing completion and, if everything goes well, the project may be inaugurated by next month.
According to NEIGRIHMS Director, Dr. Nalin Mehta, the upcoming CRC, which will have a 252-bed capacity, would provide treatment to a substantial number of cancer patients.
Informing that the project is 95 per cent completed, Dr. Mehta said that there are, however, a couple of snags to be addressed.
The Larsen & Toubro, which is implementing the project, will finish the work and accordingly hand over the project to the NEIGRIHMS by next month, he informed.
It may be mentioned that the CRC at NEIGRIHMS, once up and running, will be a boon for the cancer patients in Meghalaya since the state continues to lack facilities for cancer treatment. Currently, the cancer patients from Meghalaya have to take arduous trips to outside to avail treatment.
With this upcoming facility, locals can now opt for cancer treatment without having to leave the state.
Earlier, even the High Court of Meghalaya on several occasions had noted that an area of concern in the state is the complete lack of facilities to treat cancer since the incidence of oral cancer in the state is among the highest in the country, particularly in the western areas where betel-nut chewing is common and rampant.
Recently, even Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, after inspecting the cancer wing at the Shillong Civil Hospital, had said that cancer is one of the largest killers in Meghalaya. She had also informed that the state government has come up with a mission to combat cancer on a war footing.
