Official apathy hits visually impaired boy

Ongole: Light in the life of 6-year-old Mohana Ranga of Ravipadu village in Cumbum mandal has vanished all of a sudden as he lost vision in both his eyes two months ago. The boy lost vision in one eye in an accident he suffered while playing with his friend. His school teacher was to be blamed for the vision loss in his second eye. The visual impairment has left the boy confined to home.

Though his anguished parents have been making rounds of the Collectorate and other government offices for the past two months seeking justice, no steps have been taken to restore the boy’s vision. When his parents met Collector Sujata Sharma, she directed the DEO to conduct an inquiry into the incident involving the school teacher which left Mohana Ranga visually impaired. Having learnt about the plight of the boy, the Chief Minister’s Office responded and got a detailed report pertaining to the incident from the DEO of Prakasam.

The parents of Mohana Ranga hoped that the intervention of the CMO would bring light in their son’s life. But their hopes were short lived as the boy got no financial assistance from the CMO. Though the DEO wrote a letter to the Medical and Health Department for provision of treatment to Mohana Ranga, there has been no response so far. The aggrieved parents met District Medical and Health Officer J Yasmin on Tuesday seeking provision of medical aid to their son.

The DM&HO directed the Blindness Control Society to contact the LV Prasad Eye Hospital pertaining to restoration of the boy's vision. On seeing the hapless parents of Mohana Ranga making rounds of government offices, people of Ravipadu denounced the official apathy. Despite the repeated assurances of top district officials to his parents that they would ensure justice to the boy, no steps have been taken to provide him medical aid. The poor parents of Mohana Ranga who do not give up hope, are leaving no stone unturned to bring light in the life of their son.

By Showry