Photo Courtesy: nenews
Agartala: The Tripura State Mental Health Authority hit 19 private rehab centers with show-cause notices on September 9. These facilities operate without mandatory registration. They also ignore safety standards required by the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. Inspectors found these centers failed to meet 12 specific regulations. These rules cover patient safety, food quality, room size, and biomedical disposal.
One center in the crosshairs is the Swapna Foundation in Ujan Abhoynagar, Agartala. Officials claim the facility harmed patient health. They gave the foundation seven days to explain itself. Failure to respond will trigger immediate legal action. Eighteen other organizations received similar warnings. They also face a seven-day deadline to prove they should remain open. Section 65(1) of the Act strictly forbids operating such facilities without approval.
The crackdown follows a deadly assault at a local drug de-addiction site. Tripura Police arrested eight people earlier this month. This group includes Shubham Biswas, the owner of the Swapna Foundation Drug De-addiction and Rehabilitation Centre. Authorities moved after Shahana Das Bhattacharjee filed a complaint at the NCC police station on August 16. She alleged staff beat her husband, Tuhinsubhra Bhattacharjee, after he checked in on August 9. Doctors at Agartala Government Medical College and Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital later declared him dead. Officials stated, "Centres that do not address the identified shortcomings within the prescribed timeframe will face further action under the Mental Healthcare Act."
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