Beneath the bunker: Army docs restore sight to 220 along the LoC
Lucknow: For decades, residents of Karnah in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kupwara district , perched along the Line of Control (LoC), have lived with shelling, militancy and limited access to specialised healthcare. This week, for many elderly villagers, the journey to an underground operation theatre in Tangdhar meant something they had long believed was lost forever: the chance to see their loved ones again.
Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) performed 220 sight-restoring surgeries over two days under Operation Drishti at Tangdhar, in what the army described as the country’s first mega eye surgical camp at the LoC. Conducted inside an underground operation theatre amid the threat of cross-border firing, the camp brought advanced eye care to a region where specialised healthcare remains scarce.
Most procedures were cataract surgeries , while selected patients underwent retinal procedures and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery. The camp was led by Brig (Dr) Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Head of Ophthalmology at Army Hospital (Research & Referral), Delhi Cantonment, who hails from Mau in Uttar Pradesh.
The team included Lt Col Ravi Chauhan (Etah), Lt Col Divyashree (Tumkur), Maj Amrita Joshi (Dehradun), Sqn Ldr Shailaza Tripathi (Lucknow), Maj Indhu G (Salem), Maj Abhay Solanki (Mainpuri) and Maj Divya (Yamunanagar).
Patients from Khawarpora, Tangdhar, Tadd, Bagbela, Yangdar and neighbouring villages reached the camp after screening and announcements on Radio Rooh-e-Karnah, with Indian Army facilitating transport and post-operative care.
For many patients, the surgeries meant far more than restored vision.
Ghulam Rabani (87) wept after seeing his grandchildren again, Md Younis (66) hoped to return to work independently, Hamida Begum (55) smiled as she recognised her family once more, and Manguti Begum (80) offered prayers for the doctors and soldiers after regaining her eyesight.
Operation Drishti has so far screened over 1.5 lakh patients and performed more than 3,500 eye surgeries across 10 cities.
During the Tangdhar camp, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Dhiraj Seth and director general Armed Forces Medical Services Air Marshal Sandeep Thareja visited the facility and commended the medical teams. The next camp will be held in Srinagar from Sept 27 to 29.
Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) performed 220 sight-restoring surgeries over two days under Operation Drishti at Tangdhar, in what the army described as the country’s first mega eye surgical camp at the LoC. Conducted inside an underground operation theatre amid the threat of cross-border firing, the camp brought advanced eye care to a region where specialised healthcare remains scarce.
Most procedures were cataract surgeries , while selected patients underwent retinal procedures and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery. The camp was led by Brig (Dr) Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Head of Ophthalmology at Army Hospital (Research & Referral), Delhi Cantonment, who hails from Mau in Uttar Pradesh.
The team included Lt Col Ravi Chauhan (Etah), Lt Col Divyashree (Tumkur), Maj Amrita Joshi (Dehradun), Sqn Ldr Shailaza Tripathi (Lucknow), Maj Indhu G (Salem), Maj Abhay Solanki (Mainpuri) and Maj Divya (Yamunanagar).
Patients from Khawarpora, Tangdhar, Tadd, Bagbela, Yangdar and neighbouring villages reached the camp after screening and announcements on Radio Rooh-e-Karnah, with Indian Army facilitating transport and post-operative care.
For many patients, the surgeries meant far more than restored vision.
Ghulam Rabani (87) wept after seeing his grandchildren again, Md Younis (66) hoped to return to work independently, Hamida Begum (55) smiled as she recognised her family once more, and Manguti Begum (80) offered prayers for the doctors and soldiers after regaining her eyesight.
Operation Drishti has so far screened over 1.5 lakh patients and performed more than 3,500 eye surgeries across 10 cities.
During the Tangdhar camp, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Dhiraj Seth and director general Armed Forces Medical Services Air Marshal Sandeep Thareja visited the facility and commended the medical teams. The next camp will be held in Srinagar from Sept 27 to 29.
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