Sir,
This refers to the editorial ‘Caring for the elderly'(DE, Oct 5, , 2013)It is heartening to read that as a result of scientific breakthroughs, better medical facilities and declining family size, the number of senior citizens has shot up drastically But at the same time, it is shocking that 56 million senior citizens sleep on an empty stomach every night.Old people are a resource and an asset and should be treated as such.They are the mines of experience and wisdom and their potential need to be tapped .They need to be treated with reverence on the trains, buses, streets and everywhere.
They have played a key role in raising their children spending sleepless nights and sacrificing their own comforts to ensure that their children lead a comfortable life. Should they then be abandoned and abused by them. The recent case where the Retd Chief Justice Dewan had to knock at the doors of the Apex Court to get his house vacated by his son brings to light how the elderly are tortured and illtreated by their children.
They are usually abused physically, emotionally, and psychologicaly by their children for whom they sacrificed everything and abandoned by them , they develop emotional and psychological problems, besides suffering from age related ailments…Generally it is the women who, after being widowed are doomed to suffer the most in absence of their parteners
The Government need to take urgent measures to protect the rights of the senior citizens and improve their living conditions.They should be covered under medical insurance and special hospitals should be opened for them.They should be treated as assets and not as liabilites.
Government should also run oldage homes in collaboration with NGOs having modern facilities and involve them especially the ‘young olds’ (aged between 60 and 65 yrs)in useful work such as teaching, taking care of orphan children accounts work and the like. Separate counters in banks, post offices, railway stations should be opened for them and they should be covered under social security schemes.
Yours etc….
Ashok Sharma
Lecturer in English
Govt.HSS Barolla
(Udhampur)
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