Centre seeks report from Punjab govt on cataract surgeries that left 60 blind

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday sought a report from the Punjab government on an NGO-sponsored medical camp tragedy in Gurdaspur where several people lost their eyesight.

“We have asked for a report from the Punjab government. But as we have been told that the operations were done by some NGO and it did not have the permission from the state government, we are finding out the details of it,” Health Minister JP Nadda told reporters outside Parliament in New Delhi.

The Centre is ready to assist the state government if it seeks help, he said.

Reports from Amritsar had said on Thursday that several persons lost their eyesight after an operation at an eye camp organised by an NGO in Gurdaspur district.

Of the at least 60 people who were lost their eyesight, 16 belonged to villages of Amritsar while the rest were from Gurdaspur district. All of them were admitted in city ENT hospitals of Amritsar and Gurdaspur.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has ordered a probe and asked the state Principal Secretary of Health Vinnie Mahajan to personally conduct an inquiry into all the aspects of the unfortunate incident.

PTI