Govt opens up 400 SRA flats for Tata Memorial’s cancer patients, their kin
The gesture is second such after Mumbai Port Trust gave over three old buildings for cancer-afflicted; CM order awaited for final clearance, says health minister.
A little over nine months after the Mumbai Port Trust agreed to lease three old buildings to Tata Memorial Hospital to accommodate at least 120 cancer patients and their families, more such patients will be given flats to stay during treatment in Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) flats at Mahul.
The move comes after a meeting held last week by state health minister Dr Deepak Sawant, at which SRA CEO Aseemkumar Gupta and R Badwe, director, Tata Memorial Hospital were also present.
The government, he added, will give the ownership of the SRA-constructed building to the hospital, in which each flat admeasures 269 sq ft. The building was originally built to house those rendered homeless by the July 26, 2005 floods, which did not happen, and has been lying vacant.
Sawant added that the availability of flats would encourage more patients to go through with their treatment, given that many quit midway due to the prohibitive costs of staying in Mumbai.
A state housing department official said cancer patients and their families are often robbed by drug addicts while living on roadsides, a problem highlighted by victims during a visit to the hospital this year by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Concerned, Fadnavis arranged for armed policemen to guard those sleeping on the streets outside the hospital.
“Tata Memorial Hospital needs the flats, and we are finding a way to give these apartments to them. The allotment will require a special order from the CM,” Sawant said, adding a grocery shop will also be set up in this complex and doctors will be present to attend to the patients.
Madhya Pradesh resident Niteshkumar Shah, a cancer patient living on the footpath near Tata Memorial Hospital, perked up on hearing about accommodation for people like him. “It is troublesome to stay on the street, and it is next to impossible to get accommodation in Mumbai. It will be great if someone give us a place to stay. I have to spend another six months here.”
A little over nine months after the Mumbai Port Trust agreed to lease three old buildings to Tata Memorial Hospital to accommodate at least 120 cancer patients and their families, more such patients will be given flats to stay during treatment in Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) flats at Mahul.
The move comes after a meeting held last week by state health minister Dr Deepak Sawant, at which SRA CEO Aseemkumar Gupta and R Badwe, director, Tata Memorial Hospital were also present.
“During a recent visit, I was told by officials at Tata Memorial Hospital there that they wanted flats to house cancer patients and their families. Many of them come to Mumbai for treatment, and are forced to live on footpaths when they run out of money. I called SRA officials and we decided to give them a 400-flat building at at Mahul,” Sawant told Mumbai Mirror.
The government, he added, will give the ownership of the SRA-constructed building to the hospital, in which each flat admeasures 269 sq ft. The building was originally built to house those rendered homeless by the July 26, 2005 floods, which did not happen, and has been lying vacant.
Sawant added that the availability of flats would encourage more patients to go through with their treatment, given that many quit midway due to the prohibitive costs of staying in Mumbai.
A state housing department official said cancer patients and their families are often robbed by drug addicts while living on roadsides, a problem highlighted by victims during a visit to the hospital this year by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Concerned, Fadnavis arranged for armed policemen to guard those sleeping on the streets outside the hospital.
“Tata Memorial Hospital needs the flats, and we are finding a way to give these apartments to them. The allotment will require a special order from the CM,” Sawant said, adding a grocery shop will also be set up in this complex and doctors will be present to attend to the patients.
Madhya Pradesh resident Niteshkumar Shah, a cancer patient living on the footpath near Tata Memorial Hospital, perked up on hearing about accommodation for people like him. “It is troublesome to stay on the street, and it is next to impossible to get accommodation in Mumbai. It will be great if someone give us a place to stay. I have to spend another six months here.”
