The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : De-addiction ward soon at Tondiarpet hospital

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Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
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De-addiction ward soon at Tondiarpet hospital

Staff Reporter

Awareness programme for conservancy staff launched

Photo: V.Ganesan

Improving lives: Mayor M.Subramanian hands over `Vizhithiru… Vaazhndhidhu’ pamphlets to Chennai Corporation conservancy staff at a function on Saturday. Managing Director of The Hindu N.Murali, Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni and TTK Hospital director Shanthi Ranganathan are in the picture. —

CHENNAI: Mayor M.Subramanian on Saturday announced that a ward with 20 beds would be established at the Communicable Diseases Hospital, Tondiarpet, for rehabilitating those addicted to alcohol and drugs.

He was speaking at the launch of `Vizhithiru… Vaazhndhidhu’, an awareness programme on alcoholism for conservancy staff of the Chennai Corporation, conducted by The Hindu in association with TT Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation.

Urging the conservancy staff to not consume alcohol, Mr.Subramanian said that in the past three years a total of 740 persons were given employment in the civic body on compassionate grounds. Of them, 600 are wards of conservancy staff, many of whom died due to complications as a result of their drinking habit.

The Hindu Managing Director N.Murali said the TT Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation would help in de-addiction of persons with alcohol dependency. He urged the conservancy staff to utilise the opportunity to start afresh. This would also help their families, he said. He appreciated Shanthi Ranganathan, Director, TTK Hospital, for her untiring efforts in treating those dependent on alcohol.

Chennai Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said many of the civic body’s 14,000 conservancy staff had at some point of time consumed alcohol and several of them were addicted. He urged them to make use of the counselling and take medicines properly. He requested that 300 medical personnel of the Chennai Corporation be provided training in counselling. Dr. Shanthi Ranganathan urged the Corporation to start a de-addiction centre and conduct a sensitisation programme even for those who do not consume alcohol. She said that around 20 per cent of all people who drink develop alcoholism.

The Hindu Directors Nalini Krishnan and Lakshmi Srinath, Corporation Health Officer P.Kuganantham and Zone 7 Chairman M.P.Anbudurai were present. Zone-wise data about alcoholics among the conservancy staff would be collected based on which intervention would be planned.

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