A 24-bedded rehabilitation centre will be opened for senior citizens and persons with disabilities at the Government Taluk Hospital in Tiruvannamalai town this week.
Accompanied by K. Karthikeyan, SP (Tiruvannamalai), Collector B. Murugesh inspected the facilities available at the new centre, which will be monitored by the district police as patients at the centre are those who were involved in the illegal sale of liquor and arrack in the district.
The safety of doctors, staff nurses, and patients in other blocks of the hospital will also be ensured by a round-the-clock police team. “We are also making arrangements for an additional 24 beds for emergency purposes. As of now, police say they have 10 such patients. The in-patients will be under CCTV surveillance,” said V. Arun Kumar, nodal officer, National Health Mission (Tiruvannamalai).
The new centre will be located on the second floor of the hospital. The new facility will have one duty doctor, two staff nurses, and other workers. Counselling will also be provided at the centre after the end of their 10-day treatment.
Raids in the hills
Meanwhile, drones were operated in remote areas on Jawadhu Hills and Kalvarayan Hills in the district on Wednesday. A total of 37 special teams have been formed to track and report illegal liquor and arrack activities in the district.
Each team comprises seven to eight policemen led by a sub-inspector. Most of the hillocks where arrack units are detected do not have human habitations and are inaccessible. Police said that most of the arrested persons in the illegal sale of liquor and arrack in the district are old people and persons with disabilities in remote villages along Jawadhu and Kalvarayan Hills.
As these people cannot be handled like other suspects due to old age and sickness, police leave them after the initial inquiry. However, they again indulge in the illegal trade in the district. As a result, police said that in coordination with the district administration, the centre has been established in the government hospital in Tiruvannamalai town to rehabilitate them and monitor their activities further.
