As many as 20 villagers of Kadavanur in Villupuram district have lost their vision four weeks after they underwent a free cataract surgery. They were among the 66 people who showed symptoms of cataract and were operated upon during a free eye camp held on July 28 by the satellite facility of Dr Joseph Institute of Ophthalmology at Perambalur.

Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has announced a cash relief of Rs 5 lakh for the 20 villagers from his relief fund and added that action would be taken against the private hospital based on the test reports from the labs.

The Problem started when a few days after the surgery 50 people came back complaining of blurred vision, vomiting and pain in the eyes . As the problem increased, 21 people, including 14 women, were referred to the main hospital in Tiruchirapalli.

Visiting them at the hospital on Monday, State Health Minister M R K Paneerselvam said that initial enquiries by the Government medical team suggested that the eye drops used after the surgery had spread infections, but refused to elaborate further without obtaining a report from sample testing.

Considering the gravity of the incident, senior doctors from Government medical colleges and specialists in ophthalmology arrived at the spot and collected swabs from the Perambalur facility and sent them for testing. Experts say that the mishap might have been caused by a small negligence or human error.