MUSCAT : His Holiness Baselious Marthoma Paulose II, Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan, has said that the first phase of the Parumala St Gregorios International Cancer Care Centre (SGICCC) will be thrown open to the public from November 2015.
Revealing this at a press conference at the Muscat Mar Gregorios Maha Edavaka, the Catholicos revealed that though the project has gone much beyond schedule, the first phase will however be opened to the public from November to coincide with the annual Parumala Festival. “An agreement worth Rs 20 crore of machinery was signed last month and we require a total outlay of Rs 120 crore to run the project properly, of which Rs 75 crore has been spent so far.
The Primate of the Indian Orthodox added that plans on to provide treatment for the patients without outsourcing which otherwise can put them to severe hardships, though there are facilities in Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram in this regard.
“Without outsourcing we want to give the best treatment, and we are not looking at the project solely as a ‘money generating department’, His Holiness pointed out.
The Catholicos also answered questions relating to the present political situation in Kerala, liquor policy and observance of ‘Cyber Fast Day’ on April 3 (Good Friday) as part of the ‘Nervazhy’ project from the Ministry of Human Empowerment of Malankara Orthodox Church.
Among those present at the press conference included Dn Santhosh Babu, Secretary to His Holiness, Vicar Fr Joji George Koickalethu, Fr Kuriakose Varghese, Associate Vicar, Jacobs Kuriakose, Trustee, Mathew K A, Secretary and John P Luke, Secretary.
