V. Shanta, chairperson of the Cancer Institute (WIA), will be laid to rest with police honours, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Tuesday.
Paying tributes to Dr. Shanta, who passed away early Tuesday morning, the CM said that this was a way to honour her selfless service. He recalled that she had joined the Cancer Institute in 1955, and served in several key posts. Due to her selfless service, she obtained support from various quarters, improved the institute that was started with 12 beds with advanced facilities, thereby providing free and advanced care for poor patients affected by cancer.
Dr. Shanta took up several research projects on cancer and created awareness on the need for regular screening for cancer detection among the public. Her service to medicine earned praise at the global level, he said.
In 2013, former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had presented her with the ‘Avvaiyar Award’, he said.
The CM lauded the institute’s humanitarian approach that provided free treatment not only for poor patients in Tamil Nadu but also for those from other States. Her passing away is a great loss to medicine and to Tamil Nadu, he said, in a statement issued.
