With the increasing atrocities on old men and women and their isolation at home, a seminar on “Our Responsibility towards Senior Citizens” was jointly organised by the Mahan Sangh and the Biswaniketan Jara Nivas here on Wednesday.
Mahan Sangh president Sushant Sabat presided over the meeting while DIG of Police (Southern Range) Amitabh Thakur was the chief guest. local MlA Dr Ramesh Chandra Chyau Pattnaik, Superintendent of Police Dr Sarthak Sadangi and BDA Chairman Subash Maharana were the guests of honour.
Sabat urged the Government to extend all kinds of help to senior citizens who often feel helpless and need moral support for leading a peaceful life. He stressed on the need of opening up of helpdesks for senior citizens at every police station and also “Advisory-cum-Assistance Cell for Senior Citizens” at the district level headed by the Collector and SP to provide security, moral support, and assistance like free healthcare, communication and entertainment so as to prevent the growing inflow of senior citizens to Jara Nivases (old age homes).
Describing senior citizens as the brain of the society and living God of their respective wards, DIG Thakur expressed his concern over the speedy deterioration of relationship between parents and their children. Children now are running after the self-styled gods like Radhe Maa and Asharam Bapu which is quite unfortunate, he lamented.
Thakur assured that police would take necessary steps to provide security to senior citizens so as to ensure their safe living.
Veteran trade union leader Sudhansu Panda demanded certain essential measures for senior citizens at the Brahmapur railway station such as opening of a special ticket counter for them, operation of battery-run vehicles to bring the physically-challenged and weak senior citizens from the platform to outside, opening of special comma units in both Government and private hospitals and opening of a medicine outlet in the railway platform to meet contingencies of senior citizens.
There should be provision in all public transport systems for adequate number of reservations and reserved seats earmarked for senior citizens with more concessions in tickets, Panda urged.
SP Dr Sadangi assured that the Brahmapur Police District is soon going to have a single window cell exclusively for senior citizens in the premises of the DIG office to address all the problems encountered by senior citizens.
“We are going to have another meeting of senior citizens within a month to chalk out a detailed strategy in this regard,” he said, adding that senior citizens are free to call him or share any information on his cell no. 9437582100 for any difficulties.