Jaipur NGO to provide artificial limbs to Iraq war victims

New Delhi, Mar 15 (ANI): A Jaipur non-governmental organization (NGO) has decided to supply the famous 'Jaipur Foot' to around ten thousand Iraqis, who have lost their legs in landmine blasts.

A person fitted with this limb can walk like a normal person without a stick or support, and even run, ride a bicycle and climb a tree because the Jaipur limb has a very comfortable stump socks interface.

Patients can, after the fitment, go back to work in fields, factories, shops and offices.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday flagged of the 22-member delegation of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) for Iraq where they will set up a camp.

Strife-torn Afghanistan has been sourcing artificial limbs from this Jaipur-based outfit to help war victims get rehabilitated.

"We are taking a team of 22 people to Iraq to fit 1000 amputees with 'Jaipur Foot', so that they can regain their mobility again and walk like you and me," said D R Mehta, Founder and Chief Patron of BMVSS.

The NGO's first 'Jaipur Foot' camp in Kabul was held in 1996 at the behest of the ministry of external affairs when it provided 1105 artificial limbs.

Originally developed by a local orthopaedician Dr. Pramod Karan Sethi, a fellow of Britain's Royal College of Surgeons, and a sculptor named Ram Chandra, the main advantage of this prosthesis is its lightness and mobility.

Sublimely low-tech, it is mainly made of rubber, wood and aluminium and can be assembled easily.

The low cost of this artificial limb has made it extremely popular in Afghanistan. (ANI)