Chennai: Increased awareness among the people kept Deepavali relatively safe this year.
Four children in the two to five-year age group were admitted to the Government Ophthalmic hospital with eye injuries due to cracker blasts. “We treated about 23 persons with corneal rupture and other eye injuries. But the incidence has been less than what it was in the past,” says Dr T.S. Surendran, vice-chairman, Sankara Netralaya.
According to Dr S. Soundari, chief consultant of Dr Agarwal Eye Hospital, about 30 persons were admitted as against 120 last Deepavali.
“Five persons had very serious injuries including corneal tear and full bleeding in the eyes. In one case, the lens was dislocated, and in another, the iris was uprooted, cases requiring surgical intervention. Most burns were caused due to the sudden impact of a cracker blast, with the splinters hitting the eyes,” she added.
The Rotary Eye Bank and Hospital here received about 25 cases, including two major cases with corneal abrasion and hemorrhage.
Open spaces are shrinking but cracker firing mishaps were fewer in number. The mushrooming of apartments was giving people hardly any space to burst crackers, Dr Mohan Rajan of Rotary Eye Bank and Hospital, pointed out.
According to Dr Gunasekaran, dean of Kilpuak Medical College, the hospital treated 27 persons with burns as out patients while two were admitted with minor injuries. Last year, the hospital treated 50 persons as out patients and admitted 10.
There was a sharp decline in fire accidents due to the festival celebration this year across the state compared to previous year. The state saw 56 fire accidents involving crackers, including 26 in the city. All the incidents were minor except for two, according to a fire department official. The figures have drastically reduced: this year’s 58 as opposed to 2013’s 210.
