Sir,
This has reference to the writeup ‘Time to take care of senior citizens’ (Daily Excelsior, Oct 01, 2018) published on the occasion of World Elders Day. There is no doubt that as a result of advancements in medical field coupled with other facilities, the life expectancy in our country has increased and with this the population of senior citizens has been burgeoning.This surely calls for new measures to deal with the issues of the growing number of elderly people.
The main problem of oldies is their loneliness in the autumn of their life. According to a survey, every fourth Indian is alone in our country. The senior citizens need the love, care and attention of their children which the latter are obliged to give them.
Loneliness is a curse of modern life and the time has perhaps come for the establishment of a separate Ministry for senior citizens to take care of their issues and problems.So far the role of the children is concerned, they should spend quality time with their parents and grandparents. They need to be taken care of and consulted in important decisions. More than medicines and material comforts, the senior citizens need the love and care of their relatives. They are the mines of wisdom and experience and ought to be treated as such and they can provide expert advice which the younger members can’t. But with the nuclear families coming into vogue, the elders often suffer a lot with nobody to look after them.
The Government must realise the gravity of the situation and provide liberal grants for the establishment of oldage homes and day care centres in view of the fact that more and more elderly people are being left uncared by their children due to materialistic and fast life.
The Corporate Houses, various social, cultural and religious organisations too ought to come forward and discharge their social responsibility by establishing such centres for senior citizens on pay and stay basis and provide them homely atmosphere so that they may live a happy and comfortable life in their oldage.
Ashok Sharma,
(Udhampur)
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