TB hospital wears deserted look

KOCHI: The TB Hospital in Karuvelipady wears a deserted look these days. Patients requiring hospitalisation are referred to other centres. The hospital was discarded by the district medical administration due to poor facilities some years ago.The existing OP wing takes care of X-ray and laboratory needs of the patients. Only one doctor and some support staff are present now.There are unconfirmed reports of plans to demolish the building and set up a new one there. There is confusion over the ownership of the building.The Corporation said that the building was under the district panchayat while it said the ownership of the land was with the Corporation.Local councillor P S Prakash said that even the district medical officer was under the same impression as per the letter requesting the Corporation to clear the bushes on the premises and provide sodium vapour lamps. Built during the British period it was a landmark in those days as it offered treatment for countless number of patients. The hospital is proof of wastage of opportunity to generate revenue from the land where the dilapidated structure stands, according to the local councillor.When contacted the district medical office sources said that there was a move to rebuild the hospital there but they do not have more information on it. The sources said that the inpatient facilities in Aluva and Muvattupuzha are enough to take care of the TB cases. The discovery of new treatments have also brought down the severity of the disease, the sources said.It is unfortunate that the land is not being utilised for any productive purpose.The hospital is located in a key spot and could be commercially exploited.Even if the government is not using the place, antisocial people are making use of the building for their clandestine operations, sources said.The police had recently seized drugs from the building. The people in the vicinity live under constant fear during the night.According to the councillor a portion of the wall of the hospital had collapsed and blocked a canal carrying rain water to the sea. This has affected the flow of water through the canal.