MALKAPUR: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, on the occasion of Independence Day, formally launched the State government’s ambitious ‘Kanti Velugu Programme’ at Malkapur village in Gajwel assembly constituency. The six-month-long programme has been designed as a universal eye-care scheme wherein everyone in the State, irrespective of their economic status, can get their eyes checked for free. They will get glasses, as well as follow-up surgeries, for free. The administration has stated that it wished to make Telangana ‘free of avoidable blindness’.
Rao called upon the intellectuals, students, and volunteer organisations to cooperate to ensure the success of the programme. On Wednesday, he visited a Kanti Velugu camp and distributed spectacles to a student and four other persons. Later, speaking at a meeting, he said that he had adopted Erravelli village and taken up various development works.
“Some time ago, we held an eye check-up camp in Erravellu and we found that as many as 217 were suffering from ailments. If a small village can have so many patients, what would the numbers look like in the State?” he said. “Many people neglect their parents in old-age when their eyesight generally deteriorates. If such elderly people are given spectacles, they can also become independent and do their own work. Everyone should get their eyes checked. The special teams will stay till everyone gets their issues addressed,” he said.
Rao said that 120 hospitals had been identified in the State for conducting these surgeries. He congratulated 700 youths from Malkapur who, on the day, pledged to donate their eyes in the spirit of Kanti Velugu programme. Also, he announced that Rs 75 lakh was sanctioned for the construction of a community hall and Rs 6 crore for concrete-cement roads and other works in the village.
‘State will get underground drainage in 5 years’
In the same meeting, Rao announced that the entire state will get an underground drainage system in the next five years. “Currently, the underground drainage system is only in Hyderabad and in the next five years every village and town of Telangana will have an underground drainage system. The state will be transformed into ‘healthy’ Telangana,” the Chief Minister prophesied.
Later, addressing the gram sabha, the chief minister said Malkapur village was a role model for the State seeing how clean it was. He expressed happiness over initiatives taken in the village. “The wealthy state of Telangana will be transformed into the country’s healthiest state and Kanti Velugu programme is the beginning of this idea,” he said. Rao added that problems like electricity, seeds, and fertilisers have been solved for the State’s farmers and added that, by June 2019, irrigation water problems would also be solved permanently.
The Chief Minister said that the minor irrigation tanks in Telangana were repaired under Mission Kakatiya. After, June, 2019 all these minor irrigation tanks would have abundant water in all 365 days. He announced that the construction of Konda Pochamma reservoir would be completed within a year.
The Chief Minister said that the government was spending Rs 25,000 core from the Budget and was also borrowing additional money from banks for the construction of irrigation projects.
800 health teams deployed in Mahbubnagar
Mahbubnagar: Health minister C Laxma Reddy launched the programme at Marikal village in Narayanpet mandal. Zilla Parishad chairman Bhandari Bhaskar, MP Jitendra Reddy, MLAs Srinivas Goud, Rajendra Reddy and collector Ronald Rose participated in the event. Addressing the gathering, the minister said that there were over 800 teams working on the Kanti Velugu programme and urged the people to use this opportunity to get their eyes tested for free. “Glasses, treatment and surgeries will be free of cost. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has allocated Rs 150 crore for this programme,” he said.
‘Use the opportunity and get eye check up done’
Adilabad: Forest minister Jogu Ramanna launched ‘Kanti Velugu’ programme at urban Primary Health Centre on Wednesday. Speaking on the occasion, the minister called upon people to utilise the opportunity and get their eyes screened. Endowments minister A Indrakaran Reddy launched the programme in his native Yellapelli village. Speaking on the occasion, he said that 16 teams have been constituted to screen people. In district as many as 7.94 lakh people would be screened. TS Chief Advisor Rajiv Sharma inaugurated programme in Thallagurjalla village.