Low vision aids for partially blinds

The district administration has taken the initiative to conduct survey in four blind schools in the district to identify the eligible students.

The survey was conducted by the eye experts of MKCG Medical College and Hospital here with help of L V Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneswar.

"We have selected around 25 eligible students to ge low vision aids out of 70 students screened in the Red Cross Blind School, Berhampur," said B Nageswar Subudhi, associate professor of the hospital`s eye department here.

Around 150 students have been tested at all four blind schools in the district.

Selection of eligible students was however yet to be made in other schools, he said on the sideline of a meeting held at the eye department to mark the World Sight Day yesterday.

While eye experts of the medical institutes conducted survey free of cost, the expenditure on the necessary vision aids and surgery would be borne by the district Red Cross and District Blindness Society (DBS), sources said.

District administration has taken this initiative as there was a number of poor partial blind students could not afford to undergo treatment and surgery or installation of powerful lances to get back their eye sight, said chief district medical officer (CDMO) S K Patnaik.

Besides, the district health authorities have also decided to conduct a workshop to sensitise teachers of blind schools about complicacies of eyes of the blind students and their immediate remedial measures, he said.

"Since low vision aids to the partial blind people is one of the target areas of Vision-2020, we have also emphasised in a particular region, basically the slum areas in the town to identify and treat such people," CDMO said.