Andhra Pradesh   

Mega medical camp held

Staff Reporter

VIJAYAWADA: Wearing special shoes fitted with iron rods, six-year-old G. Raj Kumar followed his father Suvarna Raju to one of the special counters arranged under the makeshift pandal on the spacious grounds of the Government General Hospital in Gunadala on Thursday. The person handling the ‘orthopaedic’ counter looked at the boy, particularly his lean legs and cleft lip, before filling up a pro-forma sheet and guiding the father and son to an orthopaedic surgeon.

“Medical certificate issued by a doctor here will be of great help to my son in the future. It may offer him some sort of support to eke out a living, notwithstanding his disability,” said Suvarna Raju, a daily wage worker from Vissannapet, before visiting the doctor.

Parents of children suffering from various kinds of disabilities thronged the special and mega medical camp organised by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) on the GGH premises, where a team of doctors issued the disability certificates. Counters were also opened to offer concession on bus passes and to accept applications for disability pension.

“If I am selected for pension, I would get Rs. 300 a month. It is a very big amount for me, as I feel I am a burden to my family,” said 16-year-old Sheik Shamshad of Autonagar, a victim of polio at the age of four. “I learnt tailoring, but my family is not in a position to buy a sewing machine for me. I can’t work outside as I can’t move alone,” she explained.

The plight of 55-year-old K. Pandu Raju of Krishnalanka was different.

A heavy vehicle driver he was, he lost his right leg in an accident a year ago. “As a result, my two sons have dropped out of school and are now working as daily labourers.

I need to earn money to support my family, but there is no way,” he said, hoping to get approval of his pension application by the officials concerned.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Rajnikanth welcome to join Third Front: Naidu
A.P. Government cancels GOs. 399 and 415
Mega medical camp held
Call ‘1056’ for complaints against hospital employees
CPI deplores attack on party MP

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu