Kochi:

 The Ernakulam District Panchayat is set to establish the first super specialty veterinary hospital in the state at Puthencruz in the eastern part of the district with the support of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU).

The hospital costing Rs 5 crore will be set up on an 83 acre plot and will have a sub-centre of the KVASU to give training to personnel. The district panchayat would mop up Rs 4 crore from various local self-government institutions including the Kochi Corporation and municipalities to set up the hospital while the KVASU would contribute Rs 1 crore for it, said Eldhose Kunnappilly, district panchayat president.

He said that the KVASU had been entrusted with the task of preparing the plan for the building of the hospital. “A team from the district panchayat will visit the Wayanad and Thrissur veterinary hospitals to study the facilities there by July end and I have already spoken to the KVASU Vice-Chancellor Dr B Ashok in this regard to proceed with the work which is expected to start in four months,” said Eldhose.

There will be an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a newborn care centre, labour room and also wards to admit animals for treating them. The hospital will have an ambulance. An Animal Birth Control (ABC) wing also will function to bring stray animals and sterilize them and then return them to the place from where they were brought.

Eldhose said that an animal protection bhavan too would be opened at Maradu to co-ordinate animal protection activities of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty towards Animals (SPCA).

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC / Vinod Nedumundy / June 15th, 2014