When religion meets humanity

Sarabjeet Singh Kanwal

Well, the benevolence of Sikh community is well known around the world. With the concept of sewa (community service) and langar (community kitchen) already having made their way to docu-dramas around the world. 

Now, a Chandigarh-based NGO has come up with a unique concept of langar of free eye surgeries. Guru Granth Sahib Sewa Society is offering free cataract surgeries to patients at Life Care Masonic Hospital in Sector 18-B opposite New Public School.

“We have been doing this since 2006. But this time we have come up with a new idea. We are not only offering free cataract surgeries with foldable Indian lens and phaco technique but are also paying for the travel expenses of the patients and their attendants, no matter which part of the country they come from.  We are also providing them with free medicines, spectacles, lodging and boarding facilities,” said Harjit Singh Sabharwal, general secretary of the society. As a video about this ‘sewa’ went viral on social media, the footfalls of patients in the hospital saw a dramatic surge. 

Let’s spread the word

The video was shared so passionately by the public that patients from far-off places of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are thronging the city for treatment. 

In some cities, people have displayed banners at public places to let others know about the initiative. 

They come from far & wide

Around six hundred patients are being checked in OPD and as many as 100 are being operated upon every week. 

The surgeries have already been booked till the end of May. The organisation is also arranging a bus to carry 40 patients from a remote village of Kashmir. “I have come all the way from Sirsa. I have been suffering from low vision for around three years. I was advised to go for a cataract surgery but due to lack of funds, I couldn’t undergo the surgery. I was forced to live a miserable life. But Veerji (as Sabharwal is fondly called) has provided me a new ray of hope,” Savitari Devi said.

“Like Savitari Devi, there are numerous people who have to face the severity of life due to low vision. Our mission is to help such people by following the concept of Sarbat the bhala as taught by our great master, Guru Nanak Sahib,” Sabharwal said.

The registration timing for OPD is from 8 am to 10 am. 

They can be reached at toll free number 1800-137-0013.