An eye for God's mercy

Doctors leaving patients to the mercy of God is a common scene in films, but in Chhattisgarh, medical practitioners actually subjected themselves to the benevolence of the supreme being for real. The problem arose over eye camps organised by the state government and social organisations. In October 2011, more than two dozen people went blind after contracting infections following mass cataract surgery at one such camp. In December last year, 15 people suffered a similar fate. Clearly, the hygiene in these camps left much to be desired, but this fact does not appear to have occurred to the supervising ophthalmologists. Instead, they have decided to perform a havan — not for their patients but for themselves to overcome the problems they face.