Operation Drishti:
Under Operation Drishti, AFMS surgeons performed 220 sight-restoring surgeries at an underground surgical centre in Tangdhar, Kupwara, along the LoC during the 10th Mega Eye Surgical Camp.
- A flagship humanitarian medical outreach initiative launched by the Indian Armed Forces to deliver free, high-tier super-specialty ophthalmic interventions, diagnostics, and sight-restoring micro-surgeries to underprivileged populations and military veterans living in remote, inaccessible, and border areas.
- Organisation: Led by the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) in coordination with the Indian Army’s Chinar Corps.
- Conducted at an underground surgical centre in Tangdhar, Kupwara, along the LoC, serving remote border villages, with follow-up care in Srinagar.
- Aim is to prevent avoidable blindness by delivering advanced eye care to remote border communities facing geographical, financial and logistical barriers to healthcare.
Key Features:
- Underground Surgical Facility: Reinforced underground operation theatres enabled safe, sterile eye surgeries in a sensitive border region exposed to cross-border firing.
- Advanced Surgical Equipment: Portable phacoemulsification systems, vitreoretinal units, intraocular lenses and glaucoma equipment enabled specialised eye surgeries in remote mountainous terrain.
- Community Outreach: Patients were mobilised through local screening and Radio Rooh-e-Karnah, with the Army providing transport, accommodation, medicines and postoperative care.
- NationwideHealthcare Outreach: Across 10 editions, the initiative has screened over 1.5 lakh people and performed more than 3,500 ophthalmic surgeries in underserved regions.
