Artificial Limb Camp by India

A camp was recently opened in the Gampaha district of Sri Lanka to provide artificial limbs to 1,000 beneficiaries.

Santosh Jha, the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, and Premitha Bandara Thennakoon, the State Minister of Defense, jointly inaugurated the camp.

The Secretary of Defence, Gen Kamal Gunaratne, and the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, Lt Gen Vikum Liyanage, were also present at the inauguration ceremony, which took place at the Ranaviru Seva Authority premises.

The Camp will be conducted over a period of two months at two locations, Colombo and Vavuniya, and will serve civilians and defense personnel from different regions of the country.

The civilian beneficiaries have been identified with the support of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress.

The Government of India supports the Camp, which is being conducted by an Indian NGO, Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), which works for the physical and socio-economic rehabilitation of the physically disabled. The Jaipur-based NGO, founded in 1975, is also the world’s largest organization for the differently abled regarding the fitment of artificial limbs and other related aids.

It may be recalled that BMVSS had earlier organized four such camps in Sri Lanka: Vavuniya in March-April 2010, Jaffna in September 2011, and Colombo and Jaffna in February 2022.

More than 3,100 people then benefitted from these camps, with more than 2,200 alone getting the ‘Jaipur Foot’.

In his speech during the opening ceremony, High Commissioner Jha reiterated India’s deep and abiding commitment to the people of Sri Lanka.

The Artificial Limb Fitment Camp exemplifies the persistent endeavor of the India-Sri Lanka partnership to deliver a tangible impact on people’s lives.