Coimbatore, April 24, 2025 : Sankara Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, will screen all school students for eye defects in the next one year under its Rainbow programme, according to Dr R.V.Ramani, Founder and Managing Trustee of Sankara Eye Foundation India.
Delivering a speech on the occasion of inauguration of the Sankara LASIK Laser Centre at its Sivanandapuram complex in Coimbatore on April 24, 2025, Dr Ramani said that in May 2025, Sankara Eye Hospital would be stepping into its 49th year of eye care service to the community.
The hospital had launched the Rainbow Programme to detect and treat school children with eye diseases so as to prevent potential blindness. Under the programme all the school children in entire Coimbatore district would be covered in the next one year, he said.
“There are 14 Sankara Eye Hospitals in India now, and the 14th one was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Varanasi. On the direction of Prime Minister Modi, Sankara Eye Hospital would set up another eye care facility at Patna, Bihar. The Bihar State Government has already allotted land in the heart of Patna city for the purpose,” Dr Ramani said.
So far, over 1 crore people had been treated for various eye related issues by Sankara Eye Hospitals, Dr Ramani said. He further said that the president of the ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth Mr Sanjay Datta who had come to the hospital a year back got fascinated by its services, and promised to support its endeavours.
Coimbatore district Collector Mr. Pavankumar G. Giriyappanavar, who inaugurated the LASIK Laser Centre, congratulated Sankara Eye Hospital for having set up the latest eye care facility. The hospital had been rendering eye care services all over the State with care and compassion.
The hospital had set new standards in eye care services, and the message of its compassionate services would be carried all over the State by the beneficiaries, the Collector added.
Chairman of the Sankara Eye Foundation India Dr S.V.Balasubraniam in his welcome address said that the institution had been offering world class eye care with social impact for the past over four decades. It had also been associated with the district administration for decades for offering the best solutions to eye care. This could be made possible by human resources, singular expertise, equipment and infrastructure, he added.
Dr J.K.Reddy, Director-Technical Head, Cornea & Refractive Surgery, said that the LASIK Laser Centre was equipped with high performance laser system from one of the world’s technology leaders—Germany’s Schwind Amaris 1050RS.
The equipment offers unmatched speed, precision and safety for laser eye surgery. The device would pre-evaluate the eye condition of the patient, and instead of mix-and-match diagnosis concept, its reading would seamlessly go into the device and the laser system would act accordingly so as to exactly correct the eye power.
This specialized service through this modern device would be offered at normal prices, Dr Reddy said.
Sankara Eye Foundation is a not-for-profit organization committed to providing quality eye care to the poor and the marginalized sections of the society.
Started as a small primary health care centre in 1977 by Dr R.V.Ramani and Dr Radha Ramani, today it has become one of the largest and fast growing social enterprises managing 14 super specialty eye care hospitals in more than 10 States. The Foundation is a protagonist of the National Eye Health Care Movement in the country.
Dignitaries, doctors, paramedical staff, supporting staff and ICICI Foundation officials attended the function.