Karimnagar: Restoring sight, transforming lives
KARIMNAGAR: Eyecare is in the news these days with the State government screening lakhs of people under the Kanti Velugu programme, while others, such as YouTube celebrity Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as ‘MrBeast’, paying for the eye surgeries of 1,000 people.
However, the Lions Club of Karimnagar Dr Bhaskar Madhekar Charitable Eye Hospital, in Rekurthi, on the outskirts of Karimnagar, has been around since February 20, 1988 and serving the marginalised from rural areas of the State.
Visitors to the organisation’s website are greeted by a quote by Hellen Keller, the American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer, who was the inspiration for the hospital. A message by Dr Madhekar points to the lack of proper eye care for villagers in the ‘backward regions of north Telangana’. With the motto to serve the poor and needy, the hospital has helped transform the lives of many. In the past 35 years, it has carried out 89,324 free surgeries and screened over 7.27 lakh people apart from conducting 896 outreach camps.
Speaking to TNIE, hospital chairman Konda Venu Murthy credits the doctors and staff for ‘being able to give wings to such an ambitious initiative’. The doctors and staffers, who truly embody the spirit of service, will be felicitated soon, he adds.
While cataract is one of the most significant issues affecting the sight of the Indian population, Murthy says they also have a retina department and centres to treat glaucoma and squint. Recently, they carried out eye screening camps in government schools and found that about 30 per cent of the students have sight issues. Spending too much time watching content on smartphones and other devices and lack of nutritious food impair the children’s sight, he adds.
With six experienced doctors and 58 medical staffers, the institution is on par with corporate hospitals, Murthy says, adding that they recently installed the latest equipment such as the IOL Master, among others.
He assures that they will continue holding camps in government schools but desires to make eye care affordable even for residents in rural pockets of the State.