Cancer hospital opened in Tellippalai

The fully equipped, state-of-the-art Trail Cancer Hospital was ceremonially opened last week by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The hospital with a ward of 30 beds and accommodation for medical and nursing staff, with an area of 15,000 square feet was constructed at a cost of Rs. 300 million.

Health Minister Maitripala Sirisena, Traditional Industries and Enterprises Development Minister Douglas Devananda and Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran also participated in the opening ceremony.

The Trail Hospital was co-founded by Nathan Sivagananthan and Sarinda Unamboowe in collaboration with Colours of Courage Trust, a non-profit organisation founded in 2008 to provide better treatment facilities at the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama. The Trust has successfully concluded several fund-raising events, of which the proceeds have been used to build the Medical and Surgical Intensive Care Units at the National Cancer Institute.

Addressing the gathering after opening the Cancer Hospital, President Rajapaksa said that the Army presence in the North has been reduced with the end of terrorism and the number of military camps has been reduced while the number of military personnel in the province has come down from 70,000 to 12,000.

He stressed the importance of the presence of military personnel in all parts of the country and explained that no community is allowed to overrun another community in the country.

He said the Government succeeded in restoring the lives of the Northern people within a very short time.