■ More than 130 challenged people were given prosthetic limbs and wheelchairs at an event in IB Park recently.
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| MLA Sujit Bose (in blue) with the children who were given wheelchairs |
The event was organised by Bidhan Nagar Sanskriti Sansad in association with Mahabir Seva Sadan. MLA Sujit Bose, the chief guest, distributed the limbs and wheelchairs on behalf of the organisers. Bose said that people who were “kajer manush” were the real “kachher manush”, implying that social service groups that help the needy are the ones that are closest to them. He also pledged to support their future projects.
Many like Anima Barui and Gopal Pal received prosthetic limbs while Ayan Das and Mahua Goswami were given wheelchairs by social worker and industrialist Vijay Garodia.
Bidhan Nagar Sanskriti Sansad provides prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs and tricycles to the needy around the country. “People with prosthetic limbs, especially children, need to change them every six months or so. Once we identify and take a patient under our wing we look after them for the rest of their lives,” said a representative of the group.
They also provide vocational support so these people can earn a living. “Our lift man does not have any hands; yet he works,” said the member.
Dipanwita Das Gupta
Sight on eyecare
■ A joint venture between Susrut Eye Foundation and Research Centre and the National Association of Blind (NAB) launched recently aims to help as many visually-impaired persons as possible.
The project will undertake activities like eye check-ups in remote areas, spectacle distribution for children with refractive errors, and cataract and glaucoma screening and treatment. A van with facilities for diagnosing various eye diseases was launched too. “The van would travel to remote areas of Bengal. Starting with Purulia, it will visit the districts thrice a week,” said Shib Shankar Bagchi, director of Susrut. The northern districts, he said, were more in need of such services.
Treatment would be free. Medicines and related items would be sold at subsidised rates.
“As per the 2011 census, India has 1.3 crore visually impaired people, with 9.55 lakh in Bengal alone,” said Kanchan Gaba, secretary of the NAB, West Bengal chapter. “But almost 80 per cent of these cases are curable. We need to spread awareness about this.”
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