Sankara Nethralaya USA Brand Ambassador Prasada Reddy Katamreddy Honored in Atlanta

By Ravi R Ponangi

Atlanta, GA: Sankara Nethralaya USA, Atlanta chapter, hosted a grand reception for their visiting Brand Ambassador, Prasad Reddy Katamreddy from Dallas, and honored him for his generous $500,000 donation to establish a new Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU), as well as for sponsoring 11 Adopt-A-Village programs. The MESU, a mobile hospital covering a 500-kilometer radius, consists of two buses—one for preparation and the other serving as an operating theater—enabling surgeries to be conducted on-site. The well-attended event, featuring Atlanta's community leaders, took place on Saturday, February 15, at the Crowne Plaza in Norcross, Georgia. The audience gave a warm round of applause as Bala Indurti, president of Sankara Nethralaya, announced the generous $500,000 contribution from Prasad Reddy Katamreddy and his wife, Sobha Reddy, both from Dallas, Texas. Sankara Nethralaya USA also named Prasad Reddy Katamreddy as their Brand Ambassador and honored him for his philanthropy. The ceremony began with a Veda Ashirvachanam, led by Priest Srinivas Sarma from the Hindu Temple of Atlanta.

In India, Sankara Nethralaya (SN) is well known for excellent eye care and a strong dedication in providing high-quality service and caring healthcare. Since its inception in 1978 founded by late Dr. SS Badrinath, SN has been focused on giving top-notch eye care with a lot of care and kindness. Dr. Badrinath, the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Sankara Nethralaya, dedicated his life to bringing affordable and accessible eye care to those in need. He revolutionized the landscape of ophthalmology in India, transforming Sankara Nethralaya into one of the world's largest charitable eye hospitals.

Sankara Nethralaya USA was established in June 1988 in Rockville, Maryland, USA as a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization. The sole objective of the Trust is to raise funds in USA to support Sankara Nethralaya (SN), Chennai, India, a comprehensive eye care center for providing free eye care of international standard to indigent patients in the Indian sub-continent. In addition to their main campus in Chennai, Nethralaya has hospitals in Sri City in Andhra Pradesh, and Kolkata in West Bengal.

Since inception of the Trust in USA, a number of events were held in various parts of US to provide awareness of Nethralaya’s mission. Concerts by renowned artists such as K J Yesudas, A. R. Rahman, Sudha Raghunathan, Lalgudi Jayaraman, Bombay Jayshree, L. Subramaniam, T N Krishnan, and Dr. Shoba Raju were held in propagating the worthy cause of Nethralaya. In addition, a number of events were held using local talents, chess competitions, walkathons etc., as fund raising tools. All the funds raised by the Trust less any fundraising expenses and administrative overhead expenses are transferred to Sankara Nethralaya in Chennai, India.

The success of the meet and greet event organized in honor of Prasad Reddy Katamreddy was made possible by the active participation of Atlanta’s renowned classical singers and talented young students who graced the stage with dance performances. Being Magha masa as per Hindu calendar and keeping in view of the coming Maha Sivaratri on March 26, each singer performed two classical songs dedicated to Lord Shiva, filling the hall with devotion. The audience applauded the singers, that included Phani Dokka, Ram Durvasula, Srinivas Durgam, Sandeep Kowtha, Durga Gora, Srivalli Sridhar, Shilpa Uppuluri, Usha Mocherla, and Janardhan Pannela. These performances will help SN USA reach many satellite chapters through virtual programs.

Organizers extended their heartfelt gratitude to all the academies, Gurus, and students who contributed to making this event a grand success. The evening celebrated not only art but also the spirit of community giving, with every singer and volunteer playing a vital role in raising funds for those in need.
Throughout the evening, attendees expressed their heartfelt appreciation for the vision of Bala Reddy Indurti, President of SN USA. Under his leadership, significant funds and awareness have been raised for the noble cause of restoring vision for underprivileged patients. Bala’s tireless efforts in leading from the front and inspiring others to join the mission were widely appreciated. SN USA Treasurer Moorthy Rekapalli worked closely with Bala Indurti to ensure the event’s success.

Unconditional support was received from Trustees Srini Vangimalla, Meher Chand Lanka, Raj Aila, Sridhar Julapally, Neelima Gaddamanugu, Dr. Madhuri Namuduri, Sports Committee Chair Ramesh Chaparala, MESU Committee Chair Dr. Kishore Reddy Rasamallu, Atlanta Chapter Vice President Rajesh Tadikamalla, and Chapter Leads Giridhar Kotagiri. Committee members Suresh Vemulamada, Padmaja Kelam, and Youth Committee members Amsh Gaddamanugu and Charithra Julapally also contributed to making the event a grand success. Food and venue arrangements were handled by Meher Chand Lanka and Neelima Gaddamanugu. Dr. Reddy Urimindi (NRU), a Board of Trustee from Dallas, TX, attended the event and invited the Atlanta community to an SN event he is organizing in Dallas on June 28, 2025.

Two MESU teams have been operating for the last 15 years. One unit has been based in Chennai since 2011, while the second has operated in Jharkhand since 2016 with the support of Tata Trust. Recently, Sankara Nethralaya launched a third MESU unit in Hyderabad in 2024, successfully organizing 18 Adopt-A-Village eye camps in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, restoring vision for thousands of patients. Each camp runs for 10 days. A fourth unit will be launched in Puttaparthi in March 2025 to serve areas in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Each unit covers a 500-kilometer radius, collectively reaching approximately one-third of India’s rural villages.

SN USA Founder & President Emeritus SV Acharya, along with the Board of Advisors, Board of Trustees, and Chapter Vice Presidents, conveyed their best wishes for the event.
SN USA President Bala Indurti shared details about upcoming MESU projects, their coverage areas, and the tireless efforts of Trustees and Volunteers working to eradicate preventable blindness in India through fundraising events in different cities. The audience responded with huge applause for SN USA’s efforts in restoring vision for underprivileged patients. Special thanks were given to the SN USA Atlanta team—Moorthy Rekapalli, Neelima Gaddamanugu, Meher Lanka, Srini Reddy Vangimalla, Upendra Rachupally, Dr. Madhuri Namuduri, Rajasekhar Aila, Suresh Vemulamada, Sridhar Rao Julapally, Rajesh Tadikamalla, Ramesh Chaparala, and Dr. Kishore Reddy Rasamallu—for their countless hours of dedication in making this program a success.

The SN USA team felicitated Atlanta singers Phani Dokka (Film Director), Ram Durvasula, Srinivas Durgam, Sandeep Kowtha, Durga Gora, Srivalli Sridhar, Shilpa Uppuluri (MC), Usha Mocherla, and Shanti Medicherla for their continued support in presenting classical light music for virtual TV programs. Additionally, Srinivas Durgam was felicitated for his excellent DJ services, and Venkat Kuttua for video and photography.
 

SN USA Treasurer Moorthy Rekapalli highlighted Sankara Nethralaya’s service to the nation, having restored vision for approximately 20 lakh patients since its inception in 1978. He pointed out two key statistics: every third blind person in the world is an Indian, despite India comprising only one-sixth of the global population, and 65% of blindness in India is curable (primarily cataracts and refractive errors). He appealed to the audience to contribute generously to eradicating preventable blindness in India, noting that just $65 can sponsor a cataract surgery and restore vision for a patient. He concluded by giving a vote of thanks to all who contributed to the event’s success.

Prominent community leaders and MESU Adopt-A-Village sponsors who attended and shared their experiences about Sankara Nethralaya eye camps included: Dr. Veena Bhat, JC Shaker Reddy, Dr. Paul Lopez, Murli Reddy, Bindu Vemireddy, Winchel Jaffers, Antony Thaliath, Ravi Ponangi, Bob Erramilli, Kris Gadde, Narayana Rekapalli, Vishy Dasari, Swarnim Ramakrishnan, Ravi Kandimalla, Balaram Reddy, Viju Chiluveru, Kodanda Devarapalli, Tiru Chillapalli, Jagadeesh Cheemarla, Adi Chinnatimma, Krishna Evuru, Raj Vuchatu, Srikanth Gongalareddy, Sasikala Penumarthi, Ravi Penumarthi, Jassotha Balasubramanyam, Prabhakar Reddy Eragam, Krishna Reddy Konduru, Kiran Kandula, Jayachandra Reddy, Manjula Malla Reddy, Bhaktavatsal Reddy, Subbarao Vudathu, and Saraswathi.