Two of the three dozen children with cerebral palsy who were screened at a one-day camp on cerebral palsy and mental retardation held in Birgunj on Friday in collaboration with Neuro International Nepal and Asha Kiran Center were found to be in a condition to undergo surgery.

Dr. Basanta Pant, a senior neurosurgeon at Annapurna Neuro Hospital Maitighar, who arrived in Shivara for screening, said that one of them, a 7-year-old boy, had epilepsy and another 12-year-old boy, had a problem with his hands along with epilepsy. “It turned out that both of them can be operated on,” he said. “We will perform free surgery on both of them, after which their condition will improve greatly.” He claimed that this surgery will be high-tech.

He said that the parents of other patients who came to the camp were counseled, some patients were given physiotherapy and some were given medicine. 

Problems related to epilepsy and mental retardation are more in Terai

Dr. Basanta Pant, who is famous as the only neurosurgeon in Nepal, says that he has experienced that epilepsy and mental retardation are more in Terai Madhesh than in the Himalayas and the hills. 

Although there is no official study in this regard in Nepal yet, he said that he has found that the number of epilepsy and mental retardation patients he meets daily is comparatively higher in Terai Madhesh. ‘This is also my experience,’ he said, ‘I am not even sure why this problem is more common in children in the Terai.’

Relationship between Terai and Khesari lentils

Dr. Pant says that the Terai people still tend to eat Khesari greens and lentils, which may be why there are more problems related to mental health in the Terai. Khesari contains a large amount of neurotoxin that impairs human intoxication. 

‘The tendency to eat Khesari greens or lentils, whether out of ignorance or knowingly, is still widespread in the Terai,’ he said, ‘Some people eat the greens of this weed that grows naturally in the fields during the winter in the Terai, and some also eat lentils.’ Dr. Pant believes that many people consume it freely and indiscriminately because they believe that since these greens and lentils are freely available from nature, they do not cause any harm.

He also said that the Nepal government needs to conduct research and widespread publicity to reduce its consumption by conducting research on this plant. Although there is currently no system for laboratory testing of Khesari lentils in Nepal, since there is a facility to test it in a government-level laboratory in South India, there should be no delay in conducting laboratory testing of Khesari lentils from the government level to spread public awareness about the harmful elements present in it, he said.

The National Autism Center was recently established in Geta, Dhangadhi, in Nepal, and the organization is gradually working in this area, says Dr. Pant.

Asha Kiran Center, instilling hope

Asha Kiran Center has been active for 11 years in improving the health and living standards of children suffering from autism in Birgunj and its surroundings. The center is providing daily health, medication, physical exercise, therapy, etc. free of charge to children suffering from autism in this area from its own building in the Siddhartha Secondary School premises in Birgunj.

At 10 am, they are brought from their homes by the center's vehicle and are made to dress, pray, practice physical hygiene, and study. During this time, they are also provided with free food and physiotherapy services.

They are also provided with free dance, music, physiotherapy and speech therapy health services. Sunil Gupta, the founder and president of the center, says that the center currently provides such services and treatment to two and a half dozen children with autism.

In the context of the fact that there is no free specialist service and treatment available in the field of autism in Nepal, Gupta says that the center has been providing this service to many children with autism for 11 years. Income-generating and skill-based training is also provided to such children daily at the center. They also earn income by producing candles and other items. Children who stay at the center throughout the day are taken home in the evening.