SAKRAND : One and a half century old village Hasu Chandio, abode of 150 peasant families, located near Sakrand town of Nawabshah district, was electrified many years back. But for the dwellers of small huts the village continues to plunge in darkness as the sun sets, as the electricity failed to bring light in their lives for being the victims of night blindness and other eye diseases - result of abject poverty and malnutrition.

“Men, women and children finish their daily routine work before the sun sets or if some thing is left, they do it at night like blinds,” Niaz Chandio, a social worker, told PPI during a visit to this village established in 1860.

Old mud houses and feeble physique with scores of wrinkles on darkened faces of the villagers reflected the hunger, poverty, ill healthcare, and also the despair, deep-rooted in their soul for being devoid of basic facilities. The village is located at two and a half kilometre distance from the residence of ruling PPP MNA Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah.

“The villagers inherit eye ailments like cataract and especially the night blindness since seven generations,” Niaz Chandio said.

Currently 120 villagers including 80-year old Nek Muhammad, 50-year old Khan Muhammad, 55-year old Saleh, 60-year old Haji Qasim, 40-year old Gul Sher, 18-year old Mumtaz, 16-year old Javed Ali, 7-year old Aijaz Ahmed, 3-year old Umer Khan, Bahar, Ranjho Khan, Ghulam Mustafa, Khadim Hussain, 8-year Atta Muhammad, 10-year Fateh Muhammad, 8-year Altaf Hussain, wives of Ali Nawaz, Gul Sher, Ghulam Hussain, Wali Muhammad, Khamiso and Abdullah, all of Chandio community, are suffering from night blindness, cataract and other eye ailments.

The villagers have submitted applications to the health authorities a number of times but all in vain.

“We are faced with severe hardships owing to eye ailments. We try to finish daily work in daylight but even then some work is left and has to be done at night like blinds. Being poor we cannot afford treatment expenditures at private hospitals while the doctors at government hospitals just give some tablets and ointments,” 18-year patient Mumtaz Chandio said.

A woman, also affected by eye ailment, told that they are faced with social problems especially with regard to marriages of girls, owing to eye diseases.

Local doctor at Sakrand town Akbar Ali Javed disagrees that night blindness is hereditary. “It is caused by shortage of Vitamin A and could be treated if diagnosed rightly. Such patients can see at daytime but lose sight at night. There are different causes for other eye ailments,” he said.

Social workers Niaz Chandio, Umer Khan Chandio, Fayaz Khanzada and others, who were present there, hoped that the NGOs working in Karachi would pay attention to this village and bring light to the life of poor villagers. PPI (Pakistan Press International), 2008

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