HYDERABAD: In just 47 working days, a total of 96,07,764 individuals across Telangana have been screened for vision-related problems under the second phase of the Kanti Velugu programme. The programme was first initiated on January 18 with an aim to make Telangana avoidable blindness-free.
As per the information shared by the Commissioner of Information and Public Relations (I&PR) department about 60% of the target population has been covered so far. This figure includes 45 lakh males, 50 lakh females and 3,112 transgenders. Moreover, reading glasses have been distributed to 15.65 lakh people while prescription glasses have been given to 11.68 lakh people. Additionally, around 68.73 lakh people did not have any vision-related problems.
Out of the 12,789 gram panchayats (GPs) in the State, 6,567 have achieved their target, which stands at 52%. Similarly, of the 2,209 wards, 60.43% have screened their target population.Doctors in the camp are providing supplemental vitamin pills and eye drops to those with infections and are advicing those who require surgeries.
The government has set a target to complete the eye examinations in the state within the next 63 working days, i.e by June 15. Quality control teams have also been formed at the State and district levels to examine and monitor the efficiency of the programme.