Ganpati health camps reveal rising hidden diabetes risk among Mumbai devotees

A decade-long initiative during Mumbai’s Ganpati celebrations uncovers a significant prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes among devotees, highlighting the urgent need for routine screening and increased awareness about silent health conditions.

A decade of free health checks held during Mumbai’s Ganpati celebrations has found a persistent burden of hidden diabetes risk among devotees, with the Eyebetes Foundation saying 40% of people over 40 who were screened were either prediabetic or diabetic. The share climbed to about 60% among those over 60, according to the foundation’s 10-year observations.

The initiative, led by eye and retina surgeon Nishant Kumar, has run annual screening camps since 2016 and now examines more than 10,000 people a year. The foundation says many participants had never had a formal diabetes test before arriving at the festival camps, underscoring how often the condition remains undetected until it is picked up through routine screening.

The camps have also highlighted a large unmet need for vision care. The foundation says about 70% of those screened could not reach normal 6/6 vision, although in many cases the problem could be corrected with prescription glasses. The checks combine HbA1c testing, random blood sugar measurements and eye examinations, including retinal imaging with non-mydriatic fundus cameras. HbA1c reflects average blood glucose over roughly three months and is widely used to flag people who need further medical evaluation.

The findings echo earlier screening drives in Mumbai. The Times of India reported last year that a Ganpati festival survey outside Siddhivinayak temple found abnormal HbA1c readings in 41% of those tested, including one in four young people. This year, the Eyebetes Foundation expects more than 15,000 devotees to be screened at two major festival sites, Siddhivinayak Temple in Prabhadevi and the GSB Ganpati Mandal at King’s Circle.