Kanti Velugu: Half crore people underwent eye screening

Kanti Velugu, the one-of-its-kind eye screening programme covering the entire population of the State, crossed the half-crore mark on Monday, and is closing in on the million mark for distribution of free reading glasses to those who require it.

The programme, launched on August 15, has completed eye screening in almost a third of the 12,740 villages in just 39 days (eye camps are not held on weekends), when 50,25,544 people underwent eye screening. The TRS government launched the scheme with the aim of preventing avoidable blindness among the people, particularly those in the rural sector who either do not have access to such facility or ignore such ailments. “Many people, especially elderly persons suffering with eye-related problems, neglect them until they turn into a serious issue. The government decided to launch the programme to address this issue which should set an example to other States in the country,” Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said at the time of launching the programme.

Tremendous response

Team of ophthalmologists and technicians have been on the job since the launch of the health programme, and have covered 2,806 villages so far. “The teams of doctors are visiting each and every village and conducting eye screen tests free of cost. There has been tremendous response to the programme and people are voluntarily attending the camps to get their eyes tested,” Health Minister C Laxma Reddy told Telangana Today on Monday on crossing the 50-lakh milestone. The Minister, particularly, thanked the doctors who were patiently conducting camps with dedication.

Of the 50 lakh persons who had undergone screening, the government has provided free reading glasses to 9,73,036 persons, while another 9,36,006 persons were identified for prescription spectacles.

The doctors are screening about 250 persons in rural areas and 300 persons in urban areas on an average daily in each camp. A total of 799 teams with 940 medical officers, 1,000 optometrists and about 8,000 support staff are involved in the massive exercise. All the staff were imparted training before they went to the camps.“We are expecting that in another three months, the entire population in the State will be covered under the scheme. People have received the programme very well and are happy with it. Awareness camps are also being conducted in villages explaining the importance of the programme,” Commissioner for Medical and Health Yogitha Rana told .