KTR urges Sankara Eye Foundation to set up institute of optometry in Telangana

HYDERABAD: Industries Minister K T Rama Rao has appealed to Sankara Eye Hospital to set up an institute of optometry and a training centre for vision technicians in Hyderabad, apart from expanding the facilities to provide post-graduate education in ophthalmology.

Inaugurating the 225-bed Sakara Eye Hospital, a super-specialty eye hospital, in Hyderabad on Friday. KTR thanked Dr. R V Ramani, founder and managing trustee of the Sankara Eye Foundation, KTR has said that Hyderabad was an important medical hub in India and that the State Government had prioritised health as an important issue to be addressed.

Stating that over three crore eye-screenings were done and glasses given five years ago by the State Government which had launched a novel scheme of ‘Kanti Velugu’ (light for the eyes). He said that the second phase of screening was launched in December last by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in the presence of three other Chief Ministers – Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann, and Pinarayi Vijayan – and the State completed screening of one crore people as of yesterday and an interesting feature was that the glasses given by the Government to the needy were also manufactured in Telangana in the Medical Devices Park.

KTR lauded the Foundation for its initiative of conducting 30,000 eye surgeries to poor people of Telangana every year free of cost. He said that the Government would always promote such initiatives as a token of its contribution, the State allotted two acres of land to the Foundation for the setting up of this ultra-modern worldclass eyecare hospital. KTR also went a step ahead and announced that the State Government would waive of lifetime tax and other transportation taxes on the vehicles of Sankara Eye Foundation which came forth to pick up patients from villages, perform surgeries and drop them back at their doorstep – all free of cost.

KTR explained another mega initiative of the Telangana Government of preparing the health profile of all the people living in the State. He also said that the government had launched village clinics and urban dispensaries. In keeping with the vision of the Chief Minister, Telangana, which had just five medical colleges, launched medical colleges in many districts. And, he hoped that all the 33 districts in the State would have medical colleges by next year, along with attached nursing colleges. Telangana had the highest number of beds – one lakh – in hospitals in the State.

He wanted the Foundation to enhance the facilities to extend its services and promised that he would be part of any initiative, including fetching investment, for the growth of the Sankara Eye Hospital.

The hospital, built in 1.27 lakh sq. ft, has advanced treatment facilities for Cataract, Cornea, Glaucoma, Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus, Orbit & Oculoplasty, and Vitreoretinal Services.

This is the 13th hospital of Sankara that already has a strong presence across the country. Sankara Eye Hospitals, a pan-India movement, provides high-quality, high-volume eye care to everyone irrespective of their socio-economic status and have so far performed over 2.3 million free eye surgeries and screened over 5.9 Million people covering 114 districts, and 19,804 villages. This hospital is supported by donors & volunteers of Sankara eye foundation USA & Phoenix Foundation Eye Care which has also come forward as a donor.

Commenting on the launch of the new hospital in Varanasi, Dr. Ramani said: “Sankara Eye Foundation was initiated with the vision and mission to eliminate avoidable blindness. Our goal is to touch half a million (5 lakhs) free surgeries, pan-India, annually by 2030 and continue to offer people the best available eye care treatment. Like all our hospitals across the country, this hospital will also function on the unique hybrid model, wherein the poor from the villages will be provided free eye surgeries covering eight districts of Telangana, while the middle-income and the affluent, the affordable sections of the society will pay for their treatment.”

Sankara Eye Hospital, today, is the largest hospital network managing super specialty eye care hospitals located across nine states that include Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra, running absolutely for charity.