Punjab: Eye Mobile Unit in Jalandhar has performed 3,061 cataract surgeries in the last three years. Led by SMO Dr Gurpreet Kaur, Jalandhar Eye Mobile Unit is one of the most active units in the state, receiving the District Award in 2019 and the State Award in 2023, making it the second most active unit after Sangrur. A total of 1,040 surgeries were performed between March 2022 and March 2023, 787 from April 2023 to March 2024 and 1,234 from April 2024 to March 2025. The staff visits villages, slums and outskirts of Jalandhar to provide eye treatment and free surgeries, especially to the underprivileged. Over 1,200 to 1,300 patients visit the OPD every month, with 213 cataract surgeries performed in March. Other common diseases reported in the unit are refractive error, conjunctivitis, allergic conjunctivitis, dry eyes, glaucoma, uveitis, pterygium, diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy etc. The unit staff includes Dr Gurpreet, surgeon and ESI SMO Dr Arun Verma, nurse Amarjit Kaur and specially abled Rakesh Kumar.
Dr Gurpreet said, “The pattern of diseases has also changed over the years with the rise in obesity, hypertension and diabetes. Cataract is now being reported in the age group of 20 to 30 years. A decade ago, it was confined to people aged 50 to 60 years. Now about 20 per cent of cataract patients are young people.” He said UV rays, ozone layer depletion and pollution are among the major causes. “Refractive error has become common even in school children now. Earlier, it was reported only in adults. Many people complain of ‘dry eyes’. This happens because they are glued to the screen for long hours,” he said. Dr Gurpreet added, “We also get patients from Nepal and Delhi. The population of a particular region is susceptible to certain diseases. Diabetes and hypertension are common in Uggi and Loharan villages and Santoshi Nagar, so we get cases of chronic cataract here. In the Bet belt of Zira and Gidderpindi where hepatitis C and B are common, uveitis, pterygium (surfer’s eye) have been reported. Uveitis and cataract are common among slum dwellers and labourers.” Cataract is reported more in rural areas due to lack of private practitioners and dry eyes among urban people. Focus on cataract surgery
The surgery is primarily performed under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI), with a focus on cataract. A drive was launched under the NPCBVI to clear the backlog of eligible cataract cases in 2022. The NPCBVI is a comprehensive, India-wide initiative launched in 1976 to reduce avoidable blindness and visual impairment, with a target to reduce the prevalence of blindness to 0.25 per cent by 2025. Dr Gurpreet said the prevalence of blindness was less than 1 per cent among the cases treated by them. The unit also distributes free near vision spectacles to government school children and senior citizens.
Staff use personal vehicle
For the past 12 years, staff have been reaching patients using their personal vehicles and equipment as the old vehicles have become junk. Though the mobile unit works under the civil surgeon’s office, it lacks a full-time operation theatre. Due to the burden of surgeries at the civil hospital, the staff has demanded additional space at the ESI hospital.
