Tangdhar (J&K), Sep 27: In a remote, mountainous region where distance, poverty and the cost of travel often keep people away from specialised healthcare, an Indian Army eye camp here has given elderly residents something they had almost stopped expecting — the ability to see clearly again.
Code-named ‘Operation Drishti’, the initiative is a nationwide series of mega surgical eye camps by the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS). Launched in December 2024, it has so far covered 10 locations across the country, making it the largest such eye-camp series in India by geographical spread.
According to an army officer, doctors from the AFMS carried out 223 sight-restoring surgeries in the two-day camp — 129 surgeries on September 24 and 94 on September 25 — at an underground operation theatre in Tangdhar in Kupwara district — a shelling prone zone along the LoC in north Kashmir.
Residents of 59 villages of Tangdhar and Karnah valley were benefited by the camp.
From patients in their 50s to those well into their 90s, the camp drew people who had spent years living with failing eyesight.
For many of the elderly patients, the journey itself was a challenge, but once they reached the camp, soldiers guided them through registration, seating, medical examination and, eventually, to the operating theatre.
For Hamida Begum of Bagwala, the possibility of getting her eyesight treated had seemed almost impossible.
“I had been suffering from an eye problem for the past 10 to 15 years. My eyesight had become very weak. I never thought that my eyes would be treated,” she said.
For people like Hamida, seeking treatment outside the region is not simply a medical decision. It involves arranging money for travel, finding someone to accompany an elderly patient and bearing the additional cost of accommodation and food.
“We are poor people; how could we arrange money to travel to Chandigarh or Srinagar for treatment?” she said.
The Army’s eye camp changed that equation by bringing specialised treatment closer to the people.
Across the camp, similar stories emerged — patients who had lived for years with poor vision, families who could not afford treatment elsewhere and elderly people for whom travelling long distances to a hospital was itself a major challenge.
A patient said treatment that could have cost him around Rs 1 lakh was provided free of charge.
“We are grateful to Allah and to the Army. This treatment would have cost us around Rs 1 lakh, but here it has been provided to us free of cost,” Kalamuddin, a resident of Kambarsar, said.
For another elderly patient Ghulam Rubani from Khudpada village, the concern was not only the treatment cost but the practical difficulty of reaching Srinagar.
“We are elderly people, between 80 and 85 years old. It is very difficult for us to travel to Srinagar. We need someone to accompany us as a helper, and we also have to pay the helper’s travel expenses,” he said.
He recalled that even after travelling to the city, patients could face uncertainty over appointments and accommodation.
“At times, we are told that the doctor is not available today and will come tomorrow. Then we also face difficulties finding a place to stay,” he said.
At the Army camp, Rubani said the process was different.
“When I came to the gate, a helper accompanied me from there. The doctor examined me and took me all the way to the Operation Theatre, making sure I was comfortable. They seated me properly and even arranged tea and refreshments for us,” he said.
For Saleema, who came from Chorbara, the impact of the surgery became visible — quite literally — when the bandage was removed.
“After three years, I can see again. I can see clearly now, and it feels very good,” she said.
She said her message is simple: “Today, I would simply like to thank our Army from the bottom of my heart.”
For Kalamudeen, the doctors’ arrival offered a chance to finally address an eye problem he had been living with for some time.
“The doctors came here, examined us, and then called us for surgery,” he said, before undergoing the surgery.
A man visited the camp along with his father suffering poor vision for about six years.
“If we take him to Srinagar for treatment, it costs around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000. If an attendant accompanies him, the cost becomes almost double,” he said.
For many patients, the experience was about more than cataract surgery or restoring eyesight. It was also about the manner in which they were received and cared for.
Mir Ahmad Qureshi said he had been dealing with his eye problem since 2022.
“My test was done on September 6, and we were told that the procedure would be on September 25,” he said, praising the discipline he witnessed at the camp.
“It is not something I am saying just today. Ever since the Army came here, the kind of support and comfort we have received from this Army brigade is something we have not received from the civilian side,” he said.
Qureshi said they are not only safeguarding the borders but also helping people to overcome their day-to-day problems and navigate a different kind of challenge — the barriers of poverty, distance and limited access to specialised healthcare.
For the border residents, the Army’s presence represents more than its conventional role of securing the country’s frontiers.
“The Army serves the nation as well as the people,” Mohd Munawar Shah, a patient in his late 70s, said, highlighting the Army’s assistance to women, children, elderly people and economically weaker families.
An army officer said prior to this camp, a total of nine such missions were conducted between December 2024 and June 2026, spanning locations from high-altitude Leh in Ladakh to the coral atolls of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea, Bagdogra in West Bengal and Namkum in Jharkhand to the desert border villages of Kutch in Gujarat, Dehradun to Udhampur in J&K, Jaipur and the eastern plains of Gorakhpur.
More than 10,000 patients were screened and over 3,000 sight-restoring procedures were performed, with treatment provided free of cost to veterans, dependents and civilians, the officer said.
He said the logistical challenge has been significant as the equipment has had to be moved by air, sea and road to reach patients in difficult terrain.
The stated philosophy behind the initiative is straightforward — specialised healthcare should reach people where they live, rather than requiring vulnerable patients to overcome distance and expense to reach it, the officer said.
In a first-of-its-kind national partnership, the AFMS joined hands with AIIMS, Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, New Delhi, to launch India’s first AI-based community screening programme for diabetic retinopathy, the officer said.
