Govt. to focus on dealing with hearing loss in children
‘Cochlear implant surgery is an expensive procedure and many families cannot afford treatment’
After renaming the cochlear implant scheme as ‘Shravana Sanjeevani’ and emphasizing the State government’s commitment to help children overcome hearing disorders, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday said the government has set its vision to actively work towards addressing hearing impairments among children through interventions such as cochlear implants at an early stage.
“Our vision and focus is to make Karnataka a hearing impairmentfree State,” the Minister said, at the event of renaming the cochlear implant scheme and distributing hearing aids to the children who had undergone cochlear implant surgery, at the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH).
The programme was organised jointly by the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the AIISH. The Minister said the cochlear implant surgery was an expensive procedure and many families could not afford the treatment. Therefore, the Siddaramaiah government in 2016 launched the scheme to aid the economicallybackward families in getting cochlear implants.
Now, the State government under the leadership of Mr. Siddaramaiah has once again given priority to the scheme and renamed it ‘Shravana Sanjeevani’ to reach out to the needy. In the 202425 budget, a sum of ₹32 crore was set aside for the scheme, Mr. Rao said, promising that the funds would be properly used for the wellbeing of hearingimpaired kids.
The Minister said the department has joined hands with the premier institutes like the AIISH, Mysuru, which has expertise and specialists in dealing with speech and hearing problems. At the same time, some government hospitals and also private hospitals have come out in support of the government in implementing the scheme.
The department is working closely with AIISH and other institutions and experts for the successful implementation of the scheme.
Advising early identification for hearing disorders, he said hearing loss can stunt physical and mental development in children. The children can lead a normal life with interventions like cochlear implants. “I consider this as a rebirth for children whose hearing has been severely affected,” he felt.
Work is nearly back to normal in the wholesale chilli market in Byadgi town in Haveri district that witnessed violent protests on Monday. Traders say that they can open the market only once a week as the existing stock will take at least a week to process and dry.
Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) officials have estimated that the protest has caused a loss of around ₹4 crore.
An angry mob of farmers set fire to vehicles and shops after reports of a sudden crash in chilli prices came. Of the eight vehicles gutted, four belonged to the APMC, one was a fire engine and three were private vehicles. The APMC office was damaged, with some documents destroyed.
Police officers, who registered four first information reports, rounded up around 81 people on the charge mischief.
Superintendent of Police Anshu Kumar Srivastava said that investigation is in progress with officers zeroing in on CCTV footage. Initial investigation has revealed that most of the 81 people taken into custody speak Telugu. Security has been tightened with over 800 KSRP and DAR personnel on duty. They include 200 officers and constables from outside the district.
On Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner Raghunandhan Murthy held a meeting with traders, commission agents and APMC members.
Mr. Murthy urged traders to keep farmers updated on all trends in prices and to convince them if there is any fall. He also asked them to increase working days and hours. He asked the traders to reconsider their decision to open the market only for a day in a week. He said that they extend it to two days in the interest of farmers. of arson and