PIL seeking establishment of eye-bank DB grants final opportunity to State for filing status report

STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: In a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking establishment of eye-bank the Division Bench of State High Court Comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasnathkumar and Justice Tashi Rabstan wednesdaygranted two weeks’ final opportunity to the counsel for the respondents to file written status report regarding eye-bank at Srinagar as well as at Jammu.
In the PIL it has been submitted that the only eye-bank operating in the state was closed by the respondents in the year 1994 and no eye-bank or eye-donation center is functioning since than to till date in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. It was asserted that huge blind population and injured population in eyes has no medical avenue in the state of J&K for which they have to go outside the state of J&K at huge expenses and time.
The right to public health and medical care has been held to be one of the facets of the Article of the Constitution of India.It has been further submitted that mockery of the decimal scenario of the state of J&K is glaringly manifested as first eye-bank in world was established in the year 1944 and in India it was established in the year 1944 also at Madras. 34589 eyes were collected and 13887 eyes transplants were performed successfully in India in the year 2008 with nil activity in the state of J&K for the past 18 years.
The respondents has ample funds at their disposal to establish and operate at-least one eye-bank in each capital of the state as the crores of rupees of medical grant from the Government of India has been utilized up to less than 5 percent only and prayer for issuance of directions to the state of J&K and its functionaries to establish at-least one eye camp in the city of Jammu and Srinagar.