BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister and Bangalore Urban Development Minister DK Shivakumar and Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao inaugurated the "Ashakirana Drishti Kendra" at Dr Balagangadharanath Swamiji Multi-Speciality Hospital in Govindarajanagar M C Layout on Thursday.
This was in collaboration with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), National Health Mission, National Blindness and Visual Impairment Control Programme and Sight Saver Swayamsevak Sanstha. With 11 such centres spread across BBMP, the municipality aims to offer free cataract surgeries and spectacles to the poor and needy free of cost.
"Among the 11 Ashakirana Drishti Kendras, five centres will be provided with human resources, surgical equipment and spectacle distribution services under CSR initiatives," said Sirajuddin Madani, Chief Health Officer (CHO), BBMP. He added these centres are part of a total of 393 designated Ashakirana Vision Centres operating in Karnataka.
The CHO also added that the facility will be available at JJR Nagar Public Hospital, Halasuru Maternity Hospital, H Siddaiah Road Maternity Hospital, Hosahalli Maternity Hospital, R C Pura Maternity Hospital, Banashankari Maternity Hospital, Gauri Palya Maternity Hospital, Rampur Hospital, Indiranagar Public Hospital, Jayanagar Public Hospital and KC General Hospital, Malleswaram. Local MLA Priya Krishna, Special Commissioner of the Health Department Suralkar Vikas Kishore, National Health Mission Director Avinash Memon Rajendran, Zonal Joint Commissioner Sangappa and other officials were present.