*Zubeda Hamid * *06 Aug 2011*
*ERWADI* : It's been 10 years since 28 people were tragically killed in a fire that engulfed a private 'home' for the mentally ill in Erwadi on August 6, 2001. Since then, for the patients and caregivers who throng the Quthbus Sultan Syed Ibrahim Shaheed Valiyullah Dargah here, not much has changed. Famed for its curative powers, the dargah attracts thousands of visitors every year, many of whom come hoping desperately for a cure for their loved ones. Some stay with their relatives and look after them, others abandon them at or near the dargah. Uncared for, ill and vulnerable to abuse, those abandoned wander about, surviving on begging. If they turn violent, they are tied or chained up. To deal with this to some extent, in 2008, the then collector of Ramanathapuram commissioned a proposal for a treatment cum rehabilitation centre to be set up in Erwadi on government land. The proposal was submitted by a NGO in Madurai to the collectorate. It suggested setting up a centre that could house about 200 abandoned mentally ill people to provide them with treatment and help rehabilitate them through vocational training. The administration was willing to provide a 22,000 sq feet plot near the Erwadi Primary Health Centre, according to the proposal. The estimated cost of setting up and running the centre for three years was over `4 crore. In March 2008, the proposal was forwarded by the then Collector to the State Commissioner for the Disabled, Tamil Nadu. The Commissioner was to recommend it to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment at the Centre, for funds to be granted for the project. Where the bureaucratic roadblock has come in - at the State or the Centre - is unclear. Since then, in over three years, nothing has come of the proposal. Dr C Rama Subramanian, State nodal officer of the National Mental Health Programme in TN, said, "Though some strides have been made in treating the mentally ill in Erwadi through the mental health programme, the volume of people is such that many of their needs are not met. The proposal was sent to the Union Ministry for funds to build a facility. But it has not been taken up." Ramanathapuram collector Arun Roy admits that no progress has been made on the proposal. http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/rehab-home-plan-for-mentally-ill-still-on-paper/301488.html -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
