Bishan Singh Bedi launches vision screening campaign for underprivileged students

Former Indian cricket captain Bishan Singh Bedi on Monday launched a vision screening campaign for underprivileged children in Delhi.

He distributed free spectacles to 27 children of Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Pandara Park, where 314 students were screened to identify any visual impairment or eye conditions and prevent avoidable blindness.

Speaking at the event, Bedi said, "Vision is much critical in children's education as it is in the playing fields. It is vital in childhood and in later life."

Vinod Daniel, CEO of non-governmental organisation India Vision Institute, said 80 per cent of what a child learns is through visual processing.

Through the campaign, 'Eye See & I Learn', Daniel said, the organisation aimed to help the children in getting a good education.

"With 90 per cent of the world's visually-impaired living in the developing countries, and 80 per cent of blindness being avoidable, there is need for the government, NGOs and corporates to work together and address this issue urgently," said Arnab Sarkar, director of lens manufacturer CooperVision India, which provided spectacles free of cost.