Patiala, March 3 -- Four-year-old Guneet Kaur had never responded to a single sound due to severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. A resident of Kularan village in the Samana block of Patiala district, she had neither heard nor spoken a word since birth. Her life took a turn when the state health minister, Dr Balbir Singh, intervened, facilitating her free cochlear implant surgery at Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital - a first-of-its-kind procedure at the institution.

Earlier, the family had been unable to pursue the treatment because of the high cost involved in cochlear implant surgery.

"I went from one hospital to another, just hoping someone could help my daughter," Guneet's mother, Paramjeet Kaur, said.

A pri...