Dharamshala – Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama today inaugurated a ten-day free plastic surgery camp here.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Vir Bhadra Singh was also present at the inauguration ceremony.
The Lions Club, a voluntary organisation, has been conducting such camps for the last two decades. The camp will conclude on April 11.
The camp is aimed at helping the poor for whom private hospitals are beyond reach.
President of the Lions Club of Dharamshala LP Soodan said: “Teams of Doctors from Goa, Mumbai, Jammu and Delhi have arrived. This camp will go on for the next ten days where we will facilitate treatment of people in need of facial and other reconstruction, free of cost”.
The Dalai Lama also addressed the people after the inauguration.
Patients at the camp varied from those with genetic deformities such as cleft palate to those who suffered disfigurement after accidents and burns.
Since fleeing Tibet in 1959 after an abortive uprising against the Chinese, the Dalai Lama has spent most of his time in the Dharamshala in the Himalayan foothills.
The Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent campaign to gain autonomy from the Chinese rule in Tibet. But China claims that Tibet has been an integral part of the country for ages.
Of late, the Dalai Lama has dropped the demand for complete independence for Tibet and is now campaigning for genuine autonomy from the Chinese.
But the Chinese Government has kept up attack on the Buddhist leader, calling him an insincere propagandist. Beijing has also accused him of avoiding proper channels of communication.
