Date:10/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/10/stories/2008091052470300.htm

Other States - Puducherry

Over 1,000 IRB personnel pledge to donate eyes

Staff Reporter

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

FOR SENIOR CITIZENS: Puducherry Senior Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) Manish Kumar Agarwal explaining to Home Minister E. Valsaraj the online registration facility, in Puducherry on Tuesday.

PUDUCHERRY: More than 1,000 personnel of the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) on Tuesday pledged to donate their eyes, at a function held on the police complex.

In the presence of Home Minister E. Valsaraj, the personnel from the rank of Commandant to constables pledged to donate their eyes .

Felicitating the IRB for the gesture, Mr. Valsaraj, who also holds the portfolio of Health, said it was necessary to create awareness of eye donation among the public. There was an inherent demand for nearly one lakh eyes per year. But, only about 30,000 eyes were available for corneal transplants, he said, adding that the need of the hour was to create awareness of the benefits of eye donation.

In Puducherry, there were three eye banks run by Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Aravind Eye Hospital and Jyothi Eye Care.

Mr. Valsaraj inaugurated an online registration facility for senior citizens residing in the Union Territory. Those interested to register could log on to http://police.puducherry.gov.in and avail themselves of the facility. A separate link would provide information on preventing theft and certain guidelines to be followed.

Director-General of Police A.S. Khan said the facility was provided to find the number of senior citizens residing in the Union Territory and also about their place of residence. Apart from this, the Police Department had planned to take a survey of the senior citizens to create a database.