‘Jaipur foot on wheels’ mobile van is launched to reach the poor.
At the age of 32, DR Mehta almost lost his right leg in an accident in Pokhran. It was this incident that made him think about the plight of the poor, handicapped people. That is how Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayta Samiti (BMVSS), the largest NGO working to provide free Jaipur foot prosthesis in India and the world, was born.
Wednesday marked yet another milestone for this organisation that has helped 1.12 million handicapped persons across the country in its 34 years of existence. The Samiti formally inaugurated its ‘Jaipur foot on wheels initiative’ aimed at making the Jaipur foot more easily accessible to amputees across the country.
“This bus is equipped with all the facilities to manufacture and fit customised Jaipur foot for anyone on the spot. Techinicians and orthopaedists will travel to rural areas in the bus, and will offer Jaipur foot, calipers for polio afflicted, and crutches to people who need them,” said Mehta, now 72, the founder and chief patron of BMVSS.
The ‘Jaipur foot on wheels initiative’ was flagged off from KEM hospital and will travel to Amravati where it is expected to help 500 orthopaedically challenged persons. The idea is to spread the message of the dangers posed by railway crossing — in a city where over six million people use the railways to commute.
While in foreign countries road accidents are a major cause of limb loss, in India, particularly in Mumbai, one of the biggest reasons is rail accidents. Diabetes, blood clots, gangrene, congenital problems (seen particularly in Kashmir) comprise other reasons behind amputation.
BMVSS has been organising atleast 60 camps annually, but the organisation intends to increase its reach further with the help of the bus.
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