Rotary fortifies Cancer Dharamshala
The acute shortage of accommodation at Shree Gadge Maharaj Cancer Dharamshala, a five-storey building at Dadar, caught the attention of RC Bombay Queen City, D 3141, to add two more floors consisting of 30 rooms with two large halls, at a cost of ₹4.5 crore.
The dharamshala houses cancer patients undergoing prolonged treatment at the Tata Memorial Hospital, and their caretakers. The extended facility can now accommodate 60 more patients and 120 relatives, says Murari Agarwal, past president of the club.
Vandana Gupta from V Care Foundation mooted the idea of taking up the extension work at the cancer centre. Before the construction work could start, the club had to pay up the pending property tax and municipal tax dues for the building totalling ₹1.5 crore, which was cleared by social groups Shree Shankara Hindu Mission and Hari Om Group of Friends, Ghatkopar.
Rotarians Ramesh Poddar and Pawan Poddar of Siyaram Silk Mills funded the construction, while Jayesh Botadra and Arun Garodia from Hari Om Group helped the club get necessary clearances and permissions for the building extension. Rtn Sailesh Mahimtura, a structural engineer, undertook the construction work.
Following the audit report that the 30-year-old building’s columns and beams were weak and cannot take the load of two more floors, the Poddars volunteered to bear the extra cost of ₹65 lakh to enhance the structure’s strength.
The extended building will be thrown open for the patients by September, says Agarwal.
