Dec 26 solar eclipse: 15 youngsters suffer vision loss in Jaipur

New Delhi: In a recent incident that came to light from Jaipur in Rajasthan, at least 15 youngsters in the age group of 10-20 years lost their vision after they saw the solar eclipse, which took place on December 26 last year, with naked eyes.

The youngsters were treated at Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur. According to the doctors in the hospital, a part of their retina had been burnt and their normal vision was unlikely to be restored.

According to reports, the head of the ophthalmology department at SMS Hospital Kamlesh Khilnani said that such illness is treated by giving supportive treatment and it takes 3-6 weeks for the patient to recover partially.

The solar eclipse was considered the biggest celestial event of 2019. It began in the morning and people gathered in huge numbers to witness the brief ‘ring of fire’, a rare natural phenomenon which came after 296 years.

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The solar eclipse was witnessed from India, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia. Meanwhile, in India, several southern towns got a full view of the ‘ring of fire’ whereas north India only witnessed a partial solar eclipse. People used solar filters and solar goggles for safe viewing of the eclipse. However, at many places, fog and clouds blocked the view of the last eclipse of the decade.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to describe his experience. “Like many Indians, I was enthusiastic about #solareclipse2019. Unfortunately, I could not see the Sun due to cloud cover but I did catch glimpses of the eclipse in Kozhikode and other parts on live stream. Also enriched my knowledge on the subject by interacting with experts,” he tweeted.