Ahmedabad: Chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Sunday interacted with children with cochlear implants at Science City in Ahmedabad. He also visited the aquatic gallery at the Science City along with the children.“When parents realize that their child cannot hear, it comes as a huge shock. For such a child, life becomes very challenging. However, cochlear implants are a technology that help provide hearing ability to young children,” Patel wrote on X.He added, “Generally considered expensive, this service is provided free of cost by the state govt to children up to the age of six. If the external speech processor stops functioning over time, the state govt will replace it once free of charge.”Describing his interaction with the children, Patel wrote on his X handle, “Seeing these innocent children speaking and listening filled my heart with emotions like affection, hope, trust and satisfaction. The smiles on their faces and the sound of their voices were the biggest achievement of my day.”Patel urged citizens to inform authorities about children who may need cochlear implants, as the state govt provides these implants free of cost to all children with congenital deafness.Under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), the state health and family welfare department has been conducting screening of students, including children below six years of age, for congenital deafness.
