For an organisation providing hope to thousands after amputation, BMVSS seems to have got a raw deal. Corporate sponsorship is hard to come by and they have to depend on the government to fund their efforts.

``Initially, when we started in 1975, a big source of finance for the organisation was through donations. But since the number of limbs fitted was low and the manufacturing cost around Rs 100, it was not difficult to generate resources. Today we fit more than 50,000 limbs every year. And the average cost, owing to an increase in the cost of raw material, has goneup to Rs 1,000,'' says B P Jain, chairman, BMVSS.

The corporate sector was helping the organisation initially with meagre donations. But for the past five or six years, their main source of finance has been governmental grants. This, too, has also been very erratic depending upon the whims of the minister concerned. ``Menaka Gandhi, for instance, has been very encouraging. But former minister B S Ramoowalia put a ceiling on grants to welfare organisations at Rs 10 lakh annually. That does not even cover expenses for even one such camp,'' says Jain. `` The huge demand for the limb means that there are around 2,000 people at each camp. Providing each of them a Rs 1,000-limb means an expenditure of Rs 20 lakh in each camp. That is why we desperately need corporate support to sponsor our effort,'' he adds. Not many know that this organisation was set up in Jaipur by SEBI chairman D R Mehta. The initial research and development on the invention was carried out by a craftsman, Master Ramchandra Sharma, beforeeminent orthopaedist Dr P K Sethi popularised it.

Sudha Chandran, the dancer-star of Nache Mayuri, tried imported variations of the artificial limb before choosing the Jaipur foot. After trying artificial limbs from Germany, USA and Japan, she found that it to be the lightest. ``Sudha continues to use our limb and practises her art with it,'' claims Jain.

The Jaipur foot weighs just 1.3 kg which is at least 4 kg less than any limb available outside India. Also, it is very durable. ``Our limb is made of a material called heavy density polyethelene pipe. This pipe is so strong that it does not crack even if a loaded truck passes over it. Once the patient gets it fitted, it is more or less a lifelong attachment,'' claims Jain.The best part is that even the replacement of the foot is free. ``Our limbs are provided free to everybody regardless of economic background. For very poor patients, who can't even afford to travel, we provide the return fare, too.''

BMVSS camps are held in even the farthest interiorsof the country. Their latest camp was held recently at Raisen, Madhya Pradesh. ``We provided artificial limbs to amputees, calipers to polio patients and crutches, tricycles and wheel chairs to people with severe disability. We want to reach the people at their door step. Some people from Basti, UP told me that even to visit Jaipur they had to borrow Rs 100 from the village money-lender at very high interest rates. Though the invention is well known, a big populace can't avail of it, till we reach them,'' reasons Jain.