Agartala, March 29 (TIWN): Rs.120 crores had been sanctioned for the infrastructure development of the Regional Cancer Hospital at Agartala in the 2014-15 financial year by the Central government. The State had also approved to recommend the share of 10 percent. L&T construction was given the responsibility for the construction of the new beds and availability of the necessary equipments.

 State Government is hopeful that the work will be going to be completed within next 2-3 years. It is to be mentioned that the number of beds will increase from 100 to 150 in the upcoming years.There has been an alarming 36 per cent rise in incidence of cancer in Tripura in the past five years, with nearly 50 per cent of the cases being attributed to consumption of tobacco products. According to current trends at the national level, 100 out of 1 lakh people contract cancer every year and in accordance with this trend, Tripura should have 3,600 cancer patients annually, as the state has a population of 36 lakh according to the latest census. But the number of people contracting cancer is much less.

Tobacco and the dietary habits of the people of this small hilly state is the creator of this disease.-as said by a highly placed source of the Health & Family Welfare Department. According to the source, during the past three or four years about two thousand new cases of cancer emerged in Tripura. 2082 cancer cases were diagnosed and in the recent year till date, about 1,500 patients were diagnosed. It is to be mentioned here that, Tripura (55.9 percent) have the highest number of tobacco users in India, The ratio of other States are Mizoram (67.2 percent), Nagaland (56.8 percent). There has been a 36 per cent rise in cancer in Tripura over the past five years. According to records available with the Tripura RCC, the number of patients registered with the institute in 2006 was 1,263. But the figure increased to 1,386 in 2007, 1,444 in 2008, 1,524 in 2009 and 1,726 in 2010. The lifestyle of the people of the hilly state, especially their extensive consumption of tobacco coupled with consumption of smoked meat and vegetables, resulted in the high occurance of cancer.

The Cancer Hospital, Agartala was established in the year 1980 with OPD service only to cater to the cancer patients of Tripura state.  In 1979 the then Chief Minister Sri Nripen Chakraborty wrote to Central Health Minister about the need of Cobalt Therapy Unit for the State of Tripura.