Kanti Velugu set to cross 1.5 crore eye screening tests in Telangana

Launched by the Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao on January 18 in Khammam, the Kanti Velugu scheme has so far covered 1.42 crore persons in Telangana

Hyderabad: The second-phase of the Kanti Velugu public health initiative, launched to fight preventable blindness by the State government, is all set to complete eye screening tests for 1.50 crore individuals in the coming days.

The health department said that by the end of the initiative on June 15, nearly 2 crore persons would have underwent the free eye screening tests under Kanti Velugu initiative.

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Launched by the Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao on January 18 in Khammam, the Kanti Velugu scheme has so far covered 1.42 crore persons in the State. Being implemented in 100 working days between January 19 and June 15, a total of 20,69,000 persons have so far received reading glasses under the initiative.

The Kanti Velugu initiative is under implementation in 10,285 Gram Panchayat wards and 3221 Municipal wards where the eligible individuals have underwent eye-screening tests.

The first phase of Kanti Velugu, which was launched on August 15, 2018 by the Chief Minister in Malkapur, Medak district, was taken up for eight months in which 1.50 crore individuals had undergone eye-screening tests and a total of 50 lakh spectacles were distributed among eligible persons.

Senior health officials said that in second-phase of Kanti Velugu initiative, in a span of 74 days, about 82 per cent of the eligible individuals underwent eye tests. Instead of implementing the initiative in eight months, which was the case in the first phase, the health department is now aiming to conclude the scheme in 100 working days. While implementing Kanti Velugu scheme, special care is being taken to ensure other health care facilities in government hospitals are not interrupted.