SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Sept 25: As part of community-led initiatives, Tata Steel Foundation (TSF) of Jharia Division collaborated with Sankara Nethralaya to organise a free cataract camp for the community at Lohapitti Panchayat Sachivalaya, under Baghmara Block, today.
Mayank Shekhar, chief (Sijua Group), Jharia Division of Tata Steel inaugurated the camp.
An official said this is the fourth cataract camp organised in this financial year. The screening took place from September 21 to 24, and surgery is being organised from September 25 to 29. A total of 253 cases have been screened, out of which 85 cases have been referred for surgery.
The camp is being conducted by Dr Sujoy Sarkar and Dr Meghna Sen from Sankara Nethralaya.
The official said the main objective of this camp is to reach out to old people living in remote villages, who are suffering from cataracts and are financially weak to get the treatment done. The screening and operation facilities provided to the patients through the Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU) are completely free of charge. MESU has been developed by Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, in collaboration with IIT Madras. With the success of the venture in Tamil Nadu, Sankara Nethralaya expanded this project with the support of Tata Trusts to Jharkhand, with logistical and on-ground support from Tata Steel.
Others present at the occasion were Dr P N Singh, Registrar, Tata Steel Foundation, Jamadoba, Bipin Choudhary, Manager, Community Development, Tata Steel Foundation, Sijua, Shankar Rao, Tata Steel Foundation, Manish Singh, Coordinator, Shankar Nethralaya, Sunita Devi, Mukhiya, Lohapitti Panchayat, Asha Devi, Zila Parishad, Anita Devi, Panchayat Samiti, Boby Mahato, and other PRI members and villagers.
