District administration launches first-of-its-kind ‘Blindness-free Shivamogga’ initiative
Shivamogga: In a pioneering move aimed at eliminating preventable blindness, the Shivamogga district administration has launched “Blindness-free Shivamogga”, the first initiative of its kind in Karnataka.
“This is a holistic approach to treating people with eye disorders, irrespective of their financial status. The programme begins this month,” Deccan Herald quoted Kiran, District Leprosy Control Officer and programme in-charge, as saying.
Unlike the national blindness control programme where patients must visit clinics on their own, Blindness-Free Shivamogga reverses the model. Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) workers will conduct door-to-door screenings using a mobile app developed specifically for the initiative. The app contains questions on visual health. Based on responses, ASHA workers identify potential patients and refer them to nearby sub-health centres for primary screening.
“Medical services are free for people from all sections of society, not just for BPL families. This has not been done anywhere in the country,” added Kiran.
The scheme is the brainchild of Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer (CEO) N. Hemanth. He emphasised the critical need for early intervention. “Many people are not aware of this and they consult ophthalmologists when the problem reaches the final stage. Blindness-free Shivamogga is designed to overcome exactly this,” DH quoted as Hemanth as saying.
To widen the programme’s footprint, expert doctors will visit villages through coordination with gram panchayats and Primary Health Centres (PHCs). Over 250 sub-health centres will be involved in the eye screening process across the district’s population of 18 lakh. Hemanth estimates that more than half of the population may suffer from some form of eye disorder.
“Till now, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy were not being addressed in general hospitals. Only private hospitals were attending to such patients and people had to spend a lot of money. We are providing free treatment,” DH quoted Hemanth as saying.
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Bangladesh court sentences Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in corruption cases
Dhaka (PTI): A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in two separate corruption cases related to alleged irregularities in allocations of land in a government housing project.
Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-4 Judge Rabiul Alam handed down the verdicts, sentencing Hasina to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment — five years in each case, state-run BSS news agency reported.
The court sentenced 78-year-old Hasina, her nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq, and her nieces, Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq, and others in the cases over alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol.
The judgment was pronounced at around 12.30 pm.
Tulip Siddiq was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment — two years in each case — while Radwan Mujib Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq were each sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in both cases.
Rajuk member Mohammad Khurshid Alam, the only accused to surrender before the court, was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment in each case, totalling two years.
The court also fined all convicted persons Tk1 lakh each and ordered them to serve an additional six months in prison in default of payment.
Hasina has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests. She was earlier declared a fugitive by the court.
The cases were filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over alleged abuse of power in the allocation of two 10-katha plots.
According to the prosecution, the accused manipulated the allocation process and violated existing rules and regulations of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
