The opthalmic surgeon of world repute recently conferred the Padma Bhushan was in the city to announce plans to expand the hospital. He said that cataract was the cause of 85 per cent of the 12 million blind cases in India. ``It's a multifactorial disease. The Medical Research Foundation in one of its research papers in the British Journal of Opthalmology has stated that smoking could be one of the reasons for formation of cataracts. But keeping in mind the high incidence of the ailment in India, there could be a genetic cause behind it. We arecarrying on research in this area,'' he said.

The Sankara Nethralaya, set up in a building on a two-acre plot 20 years ago, is today known all over the world for its pioneering work in the field of eye surgery. Almost 30 per cent of the surgeries are carried out free of cost for the poor. Its post-graduate training centre has students from all over India as well as abroad and its consultants are invited by different countries.

``A routine eye examination for everyone is a must,'' says the doctor adding, ``though we do not have plans to expand outside Chennai, I dream of creating an army of opthalmic surgeons and send them throughout the country. Poorly done cataract operations in eye camps are a great cause for worry.''