BENGALURU: The botched cataract surgeries by Minto Eye Hospital doctors a few months ago, have left 24 patients in a world of darkness, trying to come to terms with loss of vision in one eye. While the government has promised the victims Rs 3lakh in compensation, they are wondering how they
will manage when this money runs out.
When TNIE met some of the victims, they spoke of their daily sufferings, their lost jobs and increased dependence on family members. Many are in huge debt after borrowing money from relativesand friends.
Mirza Asgar Ali (62), a resident of Anepalya, was a school bus driver for the past 30 years, and had been taking care of his household expenses and rent with his monthly salary of Rs 12,000. But ever since he underwent a cataract surgery on July 9 and lost vision in his right eye, he lost his job too. “The world has turned upside down for me. I earned Rs 12,000 a month, and paid for all our expenses. We have no money. We have been borrowing from our relatives and paying the rent and other bills. My wife sold her jewellery for my treatment at a private hospital, but that didn’t work too, and Rs 60,000 went down the drain. Earlier, I could manage everything myself, but now I need my wife’s support even to walk a few steps, as my left eye also has blurred vision. How will Rs 3 lakh help us manage our entire lives? I wish I had never
come for the cataract surgery,” said Ali.
When Kannada activists had intervened, demanding that the victims be paid, things turned ugly with junior doctors protesting for eight days over the alleged assault on a postgraduate doctor by Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) members. Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, who is also medical education minister, had intervened and said the government would give Rs 3 lakh to 10 people affected by the incident.
Sujatha (42) from Horamavu Agara, has no hope of returning to her profession of tailoring. She is unable to pay her children’s school fee for the past four months.“I would easily earn Rs 15,000-20,000 a month. But after the surgery, I have lost vision in my right eye and had to stop work. I’m a single parent and have no source of income. I have sought time from my children’s school, but how long can I go on like this? I’min huge debt now as I am borrowing money from people for my daily expenses,”said Sujatha.
Other victims pointed out that they are also losing eyesight in the other eye. On Monday, KRV activists took them to Narayana Nethralaya to check whether the second eye was affected.
“We took 13 people to hospital, and doctors there said that blurred vision in the other eye can be treated, but nothing can be done for the eye in which they have lost sight. So far, the KRV has followed up with the government and decided to give compensation of Rs 3 lakh, but we want the government to hike the amount. We also want doctors or manufacturers of the expired drug to be arrested and brought to book. So far, six people have got letters from the government, saying they will get compensation,” said Ashwini Gowda, KRV member.