Health officials gear up for second phase of Kanti Velugu in Hanamkonda

Health officials are gearing up to organise the second phase of the ‘Kanti Velugu’ programme from December 18 in the district

Hanamkonda: District Medical and Health officials are gearing up to organise the second phase of the ‘Kanti Velugu’ programme from December 18 in the district. As a part of this 45 teams with members in each team will be formed to conduct the eye screening in the district.

“We are going to recruit 45 ophthalmic assistants on the contract basis, and a notification has already been released for the recruitment,” District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Dr Sambashiva Rao told ‘Telangana Today’.

“We are planning to conduct eye checkup for at least 50 percent of the population by conducting the special camps in each village in the district for a total of 100 days. We are taking all steps to prevent the mistakes or unwanted incidents in the ‘Kanti Velugu’ programme,” he added. It is said that the people who were given the spectacles during the first phase would be screened again at the camps.

At least 300 people are screened per day as a part of the special programme. A medical officer, supervisor, ophthalmic assistant, data entry operator, Asha worker and ANMs will be part of each team.

“The people who got eyesight would be handed over power specs after days since the screening of the eyes,” the DMHO said, and added that the people with other problems would be referred to the district hospitals or the Regional Eye Hospital in Warangal for surgery or other treatment.

A total of 3.98 lakh people had been screened at the camps during the first phase of the Kanti Velugu programme in the district in 2018. According to the official sources, a total of 19,07,005 people had been tested at the camps in erstwhile Warangal district in 2018. Of them, 2,55,413 had been provided with reading glasses.

It is said that nearly 300 people visit the Regional Eye Hospital for tests every day, and 30 surgeries are performed a day. It is estimated that nearly 15 lakh people from the erstwhile Warangal district were suffering from the issues related to eyes.