As many as 51 lakh people got eye screening tests in the last 25 days under the `Kanti Velugu’ programme, the brainchild of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
According to Health minister T Harish Rao, 16 lakh people were found to have some problem while 35 lakh people did not have any problem.
The state government is distributing free medicines, and spectacles and arranging for free surgeries in case of need.
Giving away statistics of beneficiaries, the minister said 24,33,757 men and 27,48,923 women got their eyes screened. Of them, 8,67,251 belonged to SC, 5,04,742 STs, 30,60,343 BCs, 2,45,218 minorities, and 5,05,845 OCs.
The minister remarked that when the beneficiaries were expressing happiness and showering praises on chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, the Opposition leaders were shedding tears. They are unable to stomach the growing public patronage of Mr KCR in the state.
He further said, unlike the BJP, the BRS did not differentiate between caste, religion, or political affiliation of people. Every welfare scheme is aimed at every needy person irrespective of their background, he pointed out.
By Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao