Kolkota is to have the state of art Research and Control Centre for Diarrhoeal diseases from June 9. The Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, will inaugurate and dedicate the "Diarrhoeal Research and Control Centre" (DRCC) in the city tomorrow. Dr Ramadoss will also inaugurate the International Symposium on Cholera and Other Diarrhoeal diseases being organized there, stated an official release.

The Union Health & Family Welfare Minister will also participate in the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Central Food Laboratory and also visit exhibition in the Science City, Salt Lake, Kolkata.

Built at a cost of about 92 crore rupees, the building is having 6300 sq. mtrs space, accommodating the latest equipment for molecular and biological research activities. The Centre is now fully functional and work for prevention of emerging Diarrhoeal diseases. The DRCC is located in the campus of the Infectious Diseases and Beliaghata General Hospital, Kolkata.

With the outbreak of Diarrhoeal epidemic by a new strain of cholera bacteria (Vibrio Cholerae 0139), there was an urgent need for collaboration of research on the new emerging diseases. Following this, a proposal from the National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases (NICED), a request for assistance was made to the Japanese Government. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is the official agency implementing Japanese Technical Cooperation Projects, interacted with the Indian Government and Indian Council for Medical Research for preparing a project plan. As a result, a Technical Cooperation Project was launched in 1998 titled "Project for Prevention of Emerging Diarrhoeal Diseases Phase-I". The first phase of the project from 1998-2003 was extended for further five years to achieve the objectives fully. Since the facilities of NICED were inadequate, the State of Art Diarrhoeal Diseases Research & Control Centre has come up now.