Two senior citizens get abandoned in city daily
22 Mar 2009
| Chennai has virtually become a dumping ground for elderly people, with at least two of them being rescued by the police every day. | Last year, the city police rescued 773 senior citizens and admitted them to old age homes. This year, they have rescued 208 elderly people so far. This includes 51 people rescued this month.
Among metros, Chennai has the second highest proportion of elderly people - around 9% of the population.
The city police helpline (1253) has been ringing non-stop, with many senior citizens calling in distress after being abandoned by their children or other relatives. Most of them dial the number after finding it impossible to live alone without assistance. The profiles of these abandoned people are varied, cutting across economic and social stratas.
The figures thrown up by the helplines are scary. As per the figures of last year and this year, every day at least two elderly people take the help of the police for rehabilitation. According to national statistics, Tamil Nadu has the largest number of elderly people (60 lakh) living alone. One in every 14 senior citizens lives alone. There are more women senior citizens living alone than men.
“A large number of senior citizens we rescue are not willing to reveal their identity or address. They do not want to go back to their family, if they have one. So most of those who seek our help have to be taken to old age homes,” Santhosh Kumar of HelpAge India told The Sunday Times of India.
“The nuclear family has become so much a rigid system that even parents are not counted in the immediate family. We need to create more awareness regarding family values. The policy of the government is to reunite the abandoned elderly people with their family. Putting them in old age homes is only the last resort,” social welfare commissioner K Manivasan said. |
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