Telangana’s Kanti Velugu empowers millions: 100 days of transformative Eye Care revolution

With a focus on preventive eye care, the Kanti Velugu program screened a staggering 161 million people across Telangana

Hyderabad: Health Minister T Harish Rao along with Ministers, Prashanth Reddy, Srinivas Goud, Jagadish Reddy and Gangula Kamalakar, participated in celebrations that marked the successful completion of 100 days of Kanti Velugu program. TSMSIDC Chairman Errolla Srinivas too was present.

Expressing his delight over the achievement, Harish Rao extended his congratulations to the dedicated ASHA and ANM workers and said the Kanti Velugu program, initiated under the visionary leadership of the Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao, aims to provide preventive measures and eradicate blindness in Telangana.

He lauded the efforts of the Health and other departments, and public representatives involved in organizing the initiative. He praised the Chief Minister’s compassionate and proactive approach in implementing the scheme which offers free eye examinations and spectacles to people.

With a focus on preventive eye care, the program screened a staggering 161 million people across the State. Among them, 40.59 lakh individuals, constituting 25.1 per cent, were identified as visually impaired. While 22.51 lakh people received free reading glasses, 18.08 lakh people have been provided with prescription glasses at no cost.

Kanti Velugu has been completed in 24 districts and Harish Rao urged the officials to maintain the same dedication and spirit in the remaining nine districts to ensure the completion of eye screenings throughout Telangana.

The State Government launched the Kanti Velugu Scheme with the vision to eliminate eye-related issues and ensure the well-being of every citizen. Recognizing the increasing prevalence of visual impairments due to lifestyle changes and various work pressures, the second phase of the program was commenced as a 100 working days initiative on January 18.

The success of the Kanti Velugu program owes to the commitment and hard work of the DMHOs, Deputy DMHOs, Program Officers, Medical Officers, Ophthalmologists, Supervisors, Nurses, Ashas, Data Entry Operators (DEOs), Panchayati Raj and Municipal officials, as well as the dedicated public representatives, a press release said.