Residents and local representatives have held a public protest in Kochi’s Ponnurunni East division against the proposed relocation of a primary health centre to another division, according to a report by Kerala Kaumudi – Kochi.
The public sit-in was organised near the Chalikavattam Rural Reading Room. Former Kochi deputy mayor C.K. Manishankar inaugurated the protest, while Dipin Dileep presided over the event. The report said several people participated in the demonstration.
The health centre has been operating under the Kochi Municipal Corporation for 35 years. It began functioning from a new building during the term of the previous council, according to the report. Protesters are opposing a move to shift the facility away from Ponnurunni East, where it currently serves local residents.
Councillor Beena Divakaran, former councillor K.B. Harshal, V.K. Prakashan and P.P. Murukeshan addressed the gathering. Their participation brought elected representatives and local residents together around the demand that the health centre remain in its present division.
The report did not specify the proposed destination, the timeline for relocation or the municipal administration’s stated reason for considering the move. It also did not include a response from Kochi Municipal Corporation officials on whether a final decision has been taken.
The dispute places a longstanding neighbourhood healthcare facility at the centre of a local question about how municipal services are located and accessed. For residents, shifting a primary health centre can affect the distance and convenience involved in using routine public healthcare, although the report did not provide details about the size or demographic profile of the centre’s current service area.
The immediate demand raised at the protest was that the primary health centre should not be moved from Ponnurunni East. Further clarity will depend on the municipal corporation’s position on the proposed relocation, the facility’s future location and the status of any administrative decision.
