It is now an internationally acclaimed eye hospital,” Dr Sujatha said. Infrastructure was upgraded in 1961 with 200 beds, and PG courses were also started here in 1962.
Minto Ophthalmic Institute aka Minto Hospital, which had its beginnings in a tiny clinic in Chickpet in Bengaluru, and then shifted to a small lodge in Lalbagh, is celebrating its 125th anniversary.
Dr Sujatha Rathod, hospital director, traced the history of Minto. “On November 9, 1886, the hospital started as a dispensary called ‘Bangalore Eye Hospital’ in a small building in Chickpet. In 1903, the foundation stone for the administrative and in-patient block was laid by Sree Krishnaraja Wadiyar Bahadur and was expanded in 1917 to a 100-bed hospital.