In a novel gesture, the Uttar Pradesh government has initiated a long-term strategy to develop all urban pockets in a disabled-friendly manner. To start with, the new civil structures comprising easy slopes with handrails and ramps have been erected at the Charbagh Railway Station and in the posh Hazratganj market. Auditory signals along with traffic lights will soon be in place at the main crossings in Lucknow, to facilitate movements for the visually impaired people.

The Central Government has announced decentralisation of grants being given to N.G.O.s for blindness control programmes. On the occasion of, World Sight Day the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss announced that “the power to provide grants to N.G.O.s working in the field of ophthalmology has been passed on to the states under the National Programme for Control of Blindness”.

Keshav Chandra Pal, a 57-year-old sculptor of repute from Jamshedpur, refused to give up his family tradition of making idols despite losing his eyesight. He learnt the art of idol-making from his father and, except for a break of two years, has been working independently since the death of his father ten years ago.

“In 1996, I lost my eyesight and stopped working. After two years, my brother asked me to give it a try and I agreed. With full faith in God, I started work and now, even though I cannot see, I can make idols,” said Pal.

Chandrasekhar Sankurathri is working to erase blindness among the poor and rural communities of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. "Many are unnecessarily blind,” he said.

A biologist turned philanthropist, Sankurathri, 61, strongly believes that most cases of blindness can be cured with proper treatment. He relocated from Ottawa in Canada to Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh in 1989, after he lost his wife, daughter and son in the Air India bomb attack 20 years ago. Since then, he has dedicated his life to social activism through his community outreach programmes.

Kristen Cox and David Paterson, both legally blind, are running for the post of lieutenant governor in Maryland and New York this year. Paterson, a minority leader in the New York Senate, is the choice of Democrats and Cox has the support of the Republicans.

Cox said she knows her blindness will be an issue in the minds of voters. “They are curious about it. They have questions about it, and that's fair,” she said. “I hope ultimately in the election that blindness becomes a non-issue.”