KOCHI: Though the city boasts of having several institutions and rehabilitation centres for the mentally-challenged people, neither the Social Welfare Department nor the Health Department has any clear data about the number of such organisations functioning in the city. It is the responsibility of these departments to give licence for the institutions for the mentally-challenged. “The department maintains the details of rehabilitation centres in the district but there are several organisations functioning here of which we have no idea. It seems like they do not have the approval of our department,” an official with the Social Welfare Department told City Express.Social Welfare officer C Sundari said she was new to the district and was studying the rehabilitation centres in Ernakulam. “Action will be taken if any such centre functions without the permission of the department. In the wake of the incident in Thrissur where a raid was held on a centre for mentally-challenged, the government has alerted the Health Department to look into similar issues. So, it is the Health Department which has to take action in this regard,” she said. District Medical Officer K Sudakaran said there were orders from the government to conduct check at every rehabilitation centre in the district. “We will check every rehabilitation centre after discussing with the government. So far, we could identify only four such organisations. If any of the centres is found functioning with inadequate facilities and improper hygiene, then it will have to face the heat. The Health Department has taken the issue seriously and the current situation will be discussed with the District Collector soon,” K Sudakaran said.
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