Bengaluru Group Walks Blindfolded To Spread Awareness On World Sight Day

On the occasion of World Sight Day, a group of blindfolded people walked from Bengaluru's Vidhana Soudha to the High Court this morning to create awareness around vision impairment.

It was a short walk of one kilometre but a challenging experience at the same time that felt much longer for those with eyesight. The group, which consisted mostly of students, had to be guided in the walk by those with visual disability. The aim -- to help those with vision understand a little better what it is like for the visually-impaired people to move around.

BlindWalk 2021 is the latest in a series of such annual walks and was organised by Project Vision in association with the Good Quest Foundation. Other walks were also organised in different parts of the country.

"The experience was very difficult. I understood how challenging it is. The people walking behind me were at a different pace from the ones in front. I will donate my eyes so that I can give eyesight to people. It was an enriching experience and it opened my eyes," Akshaya Deeksha, one of the participants, said.

The BlindWalk was flagged off by Deputy Commissioner of Police Manjunath Babu. He said that people with blindness deserve much better consideration and that the one-kilometre walk felt like a four-kilometre walk as the challenge of walking without sight is huge.

Mr Narayanaswamy also led a pledge for eye donation after death.

He said, "There are 15 million people who are blind in the country, out of which about three million could see again if only more people came forward to donate eyes."