Chakulia (East Singhbhum), December 19, 2021: As a part of the community care initiatives, Tata Steel Foundation in collaboration with Sankara Nethralaya began a free cataract operation camp from today.
The main objective of this camp is to reach out to the aged people with cataract in remote villages and gifting back the vision that have preventable blindness. This best-in-class cataract facility for remote villages are provided completely free of charge through the Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU) developed by Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai in collaboration with IIT Madras and Tata Trusts.
The camp was inaugurated by Sri Samir Kumar Mohanty, Hon’ble MLA, Baharagora in presence of Mr Sourav Roy, Chief (Corporate Social Responsibility), Tata Steel, Dr Anuj Bhatnagar, Head, Public Health (Corporate Social Responsibility), Tata Steel and others from Tata Steel Foundation and Sankara Nethralaya.
The 65th camp of MESU is being conducted at K.N.J. High School, Chakulia from December 19 to 28, 2021. The registration and screening of cases has been scheduled from December 20, 2021 to December 23, 2021 followed by surgeries from December 24, 2021 to December 28, 2021. Black and power glasses will be provided to the patients eventually.
“As an organisation, we have always strived to enhance community awareness on healthcare, strengthen infrastructure facilities, and lay stress on preventive measures for eye care with cataract being one of the leading causes of blindness in the country. Since 2016, we have conducted more than 7500 cataract surgeries reaching out to communities in the rural hamlets of Jharkhand We have been fortunate that communities have reposted their faith on us time and again along with the state administration who have been an integral part of our journey since the beginning of the initiative in 2016,” said Mr Sourav Roy, Chief (Corporate Social Responsibility), Tata Steel.
MESU has been implemented in operational areas of Tata Steel from September, 2016 and has successfully completed 7542 cataract surgeries in Jharkhand through 64 camps during the period from September, 2016 to November, 2021.
MESU is a safe and useful alternative in combating preventable blindness due to cataract in far-off villages and tribal areas by providing quality eye care at the patients’ doorsteps and to those who are inaccessible for quality eye care. MESU consists of two units, preparatory vehicle and surgical vehicle, along with a glass dispensing unit. The two vehicles travel independently and are connected by a vestibule on-site.