Over the last three days of Deepavali celebrations, State government-run Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital in Hyderabad has treated 54 patients with eye injuries caused by firecrackers. Most of the injuries were due to the high-decibel mirchi bombs. Hospital Superintendent Modini Pandharpurkar said that nearly 80% of all cases were linked to these specific firecrackers, which continue to cause the most serious ocular injuries during the festival.
“Since the last three days, we have had a total of 54 people coming to the hospital with eye injuries. Out of these, 23 cases are of a serious nature where vision has been affected. Of those 23, four have been admitted, and three are being taken up for surgery. Two of them are in a serious condition and we cannot say at this stage if their vision will recover. One of the two is a child and the other is an adult,” Dr. Pandharpurkar said
She added that the remaining 19 patients with vision-related complications were treated on an outpatient basis and have been asked to return for follow-up over the coming week. “We will know how they progress depending on the type and extent of their injury,” she said.
The superintendent pointed out that most of the injured were from Hyderabad and surrounding districts, though more patients could still arrive in the day. “We usually get stragglers the day after or even two days later. Some people burst crackers late into the night, so we expect a few more cases ,” she said.
