To commemorate Swami Vivekananda’s 160th birth anniversary, International Eye Bank Kolkata organised Aloke Yatra – a walk for light, in association with Salt Lake BA Block Residents Association with an intention to make people aware and motivate them about posthumous eye donation.
Residents of the block took part in the walk along with students of Salt Lake School, Hariyana Vidya Mandir, Labanhrad Vidyapith and Bidhannagar Government School. Singer Shibaji Chatterjee, also a resident of the block, flagged off the walk from BA community hall. Students of Workshop of the Blind also joined them.
“This is our 35th Aloke Yatra. Due to the pandemic, the last two years we were unable to organise this. Before 2020, every year we had almost 3,500 donations per year, but these last two years the numbers had been very low. So we have to boost our campaign so we can reach out to the maximum people and motivate them to register themselves with us. It is very important that people discuss this with their family members and let them know earlier so they can call us when the hour comes,” said Malay Ray, chief executive officer of IEB.
Chatterjee lit the lamp and urged people to join this cause. “Today is such an auspicious day to take forward this initiative. It would be great if more people join this cause, spread this information so more people can get attached to this cause and help those who can get a chance to get their vision back,” said Chatterjee.
“This is a noble cause to which students should get attached to at a young age. The earlier they will get to know about this, the more they can help in spreading the correct information,” said Shatarupa Hore, a teacher of Hariyana Vidya Mandir.
“It is very important that family members contact us at the ealiest. This whole process of cornea collection needs to be completed within six hours of a person’s demise. It is helpful if our contact numbers are kept at hand. One should keep more than one number so that if one organisation cannot be reached, one can reach out to other hospitals. Even today, many have a superstition about eye donation. They have to come out of it. This one step can help many sightless people get their vision,” added Ray.