Mumbai: Two new shelter homes for the relatives of cancer patients undergoing treatment at the government-aided Tata Memorial Hospital at Parel will soon see the light of day. The shelter homes would take around six months to be ready for use, said Tata Memorial Centre officials.
One of these centres is going to be built in Kharghar, and it consists of the Advanced Centre for Treatment Research and Education in Cancer (Actrec). The other one would be in Parel, near Haffkine Institute. Together, the two centres would provide space for 500 people to live in at a nominal tariff ranging between Rs 10 to Rs 30 per person for a day. If enough sponsors pitch in once the facility starts, the food served there will either be free of cost or be priced at minimal rates.
The Tata Memorial Centre receives more than 60,000 patients annually for treatment, of whom more than 80 per cent reportedly come from outside Mumbai.
Dr Rajan Badwe, director, Tata Memorial Centre, said, “We see lots of patients’ relatives staying on the footpath and creating problems for commuters. The property near Haffkine would ensure that the premises there are maintained well and kept clean.”
