Royal date for hill eye camp

Princess Beatrice

Rajeev Ravidas, TT, Kalimpong, Sept. 30: A Kalimpong-based organisation has said Princess Beatrice, the seventh in line to succeed Queen Elizabeth II of England, will attend an eye care programme here next week in her capacity as a charitable worker.

The 28-year-old Beatrice, who is the first child of Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson, and the fifth grandchild of the Queen and Prince Philip, will attend the "Free cataract and intra-ocular lens and implant programme", on October 4 and 5.

The eye camp will be organised by the Jamgon Kongtrul Eye Centre in technical collaboration with Tilganga Eye Centre of Nepal. The Lower Bridle Road-located eye centre is run by Paramita Charitable Trust set up by the late Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche III.

Shyam Lama, the coordinator of the trust, said the princess would arrive on the second day of the programme which begins on Monday. "The entire programme will be conducted under the supervision of renowned eye surgeon Dr Sanduk Ruit. The princess is coming here in her capacity as a charitable worker and will participate in the last two days of the programme, that is Tuesday and Wednesday," he said.

Sources in Paramita trust said Ruit, based in Nepal, conducted similar eye camps in many developing countries. "Princess Beatrice is familiar with the works of Ruit and they know each other. Ruit has invited the princess to attend the Kalimpong programme as a guest," said a source.

Lama said over 200 patients from the hills and neighbouring areas were expected to be treated at the three-day eye care programme. "We have conducted screening programmes in different parts of the region and identified over 100 patients so far. We will also provide intra-ocular lenses free of cost to the patients," he said.Beatrice's stay in Kalimpong will be short, but the prince and princess from far and near have stayed in this town. Prince Peter of Greece, who was an anthropologist and Tibetan scholar, lived with his wife Irene in Kalimpong for the better part of the 1950s. Royalties from neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Afghanistan have either lived or studied in Kalimpong.