No public amenities for the elderly

The Millennium City is all about youth and energy, pubs and fast cars. So it seems. And, what do the elderly population of this bustling satellite city do? Understandably nothing, since there are very little civic amenities available for the elderly in the city, whether it's the roads, or the transport options or the entry-exit points at government offices.

For starters, the volume and speed of the unregulated road traffic poses as a major hindrance for the elderly, both as pedestrians and as drivers.

"Motorists will have to learn to respect the presence of the elderly on the road. With age, the elderly have problems of diminishing vision, including ailments like cataract. Hence, high-beam driving at night must be strictly discouraged since bright light from oncoming vehicles easily hampers visibility, especially for the older people. The police must enforce laws strictly so that the elderly do not find it difficult to cross roads or drive around," said T N Ahuja, senior ophthalmologist and president, Niramaya Charitable Trust.

Similarly, when they are approached by the elderly with grievances, there is a need for Gurgaon's administrators to be especially sensitive and responsive to the elderly. Experts also feel administrators at government offices can easily minimize the visits of the elderly by giving them priority and by responding to the elderly as quickly as possible.

"This is a city which has great plans and dreams but those which are seldom executed. Officials are least interested to act and hence most of these plans become a part of files which are gathering dust in most government offices," said Mangat Ram Bagri, councillor, ward 10.

According to experts and activists, civic infrastructure in a modern city is never complete until it takes into account the concerns of the minority groups - women, the physically and the mentally-challenged and the elderly, among others. Public spaces, including public transport, should be accessible to everyone, including the old and the handicap.

Low-floor, wide-door buses, recreation and reading rooms dedicated to the elderly, doorstep public services on demand, people-friendly and prompt policing are some essential measures that a city must adopt, say concerned citizens. Unfortunately, Gurgaon lacks most of these basic amenities.

"This town is worst than a village with unmanageable traffic, rowdy auto and rickshaw drivers and dormant officials. It takes me close to one-hour-and-10-minute to maneuver my way from M G Road to Windsor Palace, a drive which should not take more than 10 minutes. There are committees being constituted every day but nothing seems to come through," said S K Dutta, former general secretary, Senior Citizen Council.

According to activists, a good starting point for this kind of change can be the active senior citizen forums in Gurgaon, who can initiate focused group discussions to identify the problems faced by the senior citizens, identify elderly-friendly features in the city, and list down everything that can improve the quality of life of the people in their evening years.

These efforts should be supported by the administration, say experts.

The Elderly In Public Spaces

Transport

Unlike the fleet of pink autos available for women, there is no special transport option available for the elderly in Gurgaon. For commuting, senior citizens have either the shared autos driven rashly from point to point or autos on call and commercially run autos.

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Unique recreation centre for elderly comes up in Nagpur

If you thought the only way of socializing for the elderly was meeting at religious gatherings or dull card houses, think again. A one-of-its-kind short stay home cum recreation centre has come up in the middle of the city in the form of Golden Bliss Paradise at Sadar's Prestige Nursing Home.

The aim is to provide a home where the elderly can stay for short periods, interact with people of their age group and indulge in activities they enjoy. Moreover, it has been constructed in an elderly-friendly way with anti-skid floors, breakable doors with opaque glasses, call bells near beds and in bathrooms, railings and ramps. Being attached to a hospital, the health needs of the members will also be taken care of.

"It had been a long cherished dream of my wife Dr Abha and me to make this kind of a home. The third floor of my hospital had been vacant for over two decades for this project. I am happy that my son Dr Ankur had helped me complete it," said Dr Anil Jain, owner of the hospital.

With increasing number of nuclear families, life expectancy and youngsters living away from home, the elderly need some place to themselves among people of their age, believed Dr Ankur, proprietor of the home. "It is not just about sad stories. Sometimes, the elders in the family may not be up for an outing that the younger ones are keen on or may just want to be on their own for a while, doing things they enjoy," he said.

"We do not encourage the concept of residential old age homes, therefore this home is for short-term stays. However, there is a need to do away with the stigma attached to such shelters as it can be out of choice or convenience that the residents live there," said Dr Ankur.

Other than the physical health, the mental fitness of the residents will also be taken care of by means of outings, meditation, puja, reading and games.

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A wedding fair for senior citizens

A wedding fair for senior citizens looking for partners and live-in companions will be held at Matunga on April 7

All over the world, senior citizens are expected to settle down into quiet oblivion once they retire from work and cross the magic age of 60, silently watching as their families continue with their lives. In our country, however, the problem of ‘old age’ is compounded for those who lose a spouse to death or divorce – and the worst part is, we don’t want to hear our senior citizens say, “I’m lonely. I want to get married again.”

“With the trend of nuclear families increasing in our country, senior citizens are often left to fend for themselves. The country’s senior citizen population is increasing. Today, 10 per cent of all Indians are senior citizens – 10 crore Indians are over 60 years of age, and 12,00,000 of them are in Mumbai alone,” said Sailesh Mishra, founder of the NGO Silver Innings, which works for senior citizens in the country. He was speaking at a press conference held to announce a ‘Senior Citizens Jeevan Saathi Sammelan’, that will take place at Dadar Matunga Cultural Centre on April 7.

“When a senior citizen loses his or her spouse, he/she becomes really lonely, but they are not allowed to express it because society does not expect ‘old’ people to want a companion at that age,” Sailesh explained. “Research shows that while the longevity of senior citizens in our country is going up each year, women have been found to outlive men. But again, it is very difficult for a woman of that age to say that she needs a companion, that she wants to spend the rest of her life with somebody. We feel that senior citizens should also get the chance to find a suitable mate,” he said. To incentivise women’s participation in the Sammelan, all women who attend the meeting will be given basic train fare, lunch and a saree.

The Sammelan is the brainchild of Natubhai Patel (62), the founder-chairman of Vina Mulya Amulya Seva (VMAS) in Ahmedabad, which has to its credit 75 senior citizen marriages and the setting up of 25 live-ins all over India. “We decided to do  such a big meeting in Mumbai because our research says that 39 per cent of senior citizens living alone in this city are senior citizens. With rising crime against seniors, and the fact that their twilight years can be better spent with somebody of their choice, the Sammelan aims to have willing senior citizens meet each other and make an informed choice about the partner they choose.”

Sailesh added that women’s participation in such meetings has been found to be very low. “We want more women to participate. Through our counselling sessions, we find that most men are looking for companionship, while women look for financial security. At that age, marriage is not required for sex, but more for love and security.” On being asked if the organisers would ensure that no fraudulent members participated in the meeting, Sailesh said that all participants would be advised to carry out background checks before going ahead with the person they chose. ”We will only facilitate the meeting, apart from helping with legal advice and marriage counselling when required,” Sailesh said.

The Sammelan is not open to people below 50 years of age, or those whose partners are still alive. If divorced, the participant must produce documentary proof of the divorce, or if the spouse is deceased, the death certificate must be shown. An ID proof of age is mandatory. The Sammelan is open to widows, widowers, single people and divorcees, all over 50 years of age. The event is being organised by Rotary Club of Mumbai (Nariman Point), in association with Silver Innings and VMAS. Contact 099871 04233/ 09029000091 for details and registration.

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Seniors who play video games less likely to be depressed

New research out of North Carolina State University suggests a link between seniors who play video games and a healthier sense of well-being.

As reported this week in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, researchers surveyed 140 people ages 63 and older (the group's average age was 77) and placed them into one of three categories: regular gamers (at least once a week), occasional gamers (less than once a week), and non-gamers.

It turns out that those who were regular or occasional gamers reported higher levels of well-being and social functioning, while non-gamers reported higher levels of depression and negativity.

The study is small and the results only demonstrate correlation; it could be that those who elect to play video games are, for instance, healthier and more social to begin with than their non-playing counterparts. Also, it could be their interaction with friends or family members as they play video games, not the gaming itself, that boosts their overall mood.

"The research published here suggests that there's a link between gaming and better well-being and emotional functioning," says Dr. Jason Allaire, lead author of the paper, in a news release. "We are currently planning studies to determine whether playing digital games actually improves mental health in older adults."

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Govt. to hike old age pension

In what comes as a minor relief to the senior citizens, the government on Thursday stated that it would enhance the old age pension to Rs. 300 from the present Rs. 200 per month.

However, the pensions could be indexed to inflation, on the pattern of MG-NREGA wages, thus allowing increase in amount with price rise.

The statement from rural development minister Jairam Ramesh in the Rajya Sabha comes as elderly people from across the country stage protests at Jantar Mantar demanding higher pensions.

National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy is leading the protest under the banner Pension Parishad.

The government further stated that it is mulling universalisation of pensions by removing the BPL and APL distinction, as applicable now.

Changes could also be brought in widow pensions to cover widows above 18 years instead of present 40 years. People with 40 percent disability would qualify for disability pensions instead of 80 per cent as of now.

Though welcoming the announcement Roy said the government has to implement the changes immediately to pave way for further enhancement.

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Defer old-age pension scheme till 2017: Panel

A government panel set up to review the government pension scheme has recommended delaying the monthly old-age pension scheme, aimed to cover an estimated 4.26 crore old and poor, till end-2017 that also marks the expiry of the 12th five year plan. It has also recommended that the pension amount be increased to Rs 500 per month - roughly 25% of the existing minimum wages - by 2017.

With the civil society - in the form of a federation of more than 100 groups called Pension Parishad — negotiating with the Union rural development ministry, the government is expected to take a call on the report soon. Sources suggest the government is likely to respond within the next couple of days, and make its stand clear.

The panel, while admitting that the government is obliged to link the pension benefits to minimum wages and delink it from outdated poverty lines, has recommended a staggered approach to rectify the low pension rates and coverage over the next five years.

The report notes that even if the government was to accept the much criticized poverty line levels of the Tendulkar Committee submissions, the monthly old age pension would ideally need to be fixed at Rs 950. Now, it is fixed at Rs 200 per month, and the panel has recommended raising it by another Rs 300 per month.

On the issue of total coverage, too, the panel has dithered from recommending the numbers it believes need to get pension support. The panel, headed by Planning Commission member Mihir Shah, has pushed for a staggered approach with the coverage being extended to an estimated 4.26 crore people only by 2017. It has noted that the use of old below poverty line (BPL) list has led to massive exclusion of deserving senior citizens. It has also acknowledged that the government has committed to doing away with the BPL criterion and shift to using an 'exclusion list' such as the one planned for the national food security bill based on the socio-economic survey.

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Senior citizens to help civic body save water

From next week, Worli resident Sharad Dicholkar, 66, will spend his day advocating the need to save water and promote rainwater harvesting in the housing societies and educational institutions in his neighbourhood.

For, Dicholkar and other aged representatives across the city’s 24

wards have been assigned the task of creating awareness of the Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation’s water conservation drive. “As we have the time and experience, we would like to help the civic body in creating awareness about the initiative. It will also be a service to the society,” said Dicholkar, a retired banker.

The civic hydraulic engineering department plans to hold interactive workshops and presentations to train the senior citizens. The senior citizens’ group from each ward would be asked to devise plans to reach out to the locals.

Sitaram Kunte, municipal commissioner, said, “Water is a scarce resource that needs to be conserved. At a time when several regions in the state are facing drought, saving water seems to be of prime importance.”

“With their experience and skills, getting senior citizens to spread the word among students and neighbours is ideal. We will impart the necessary training and knowledge to them,” said Kunte.

Sailesh Mishra, from Silver Innings Foundation, an NGO, said, “Any message by senior citizens carries a certain weight, owing to the respect they command. Also, they can be trusted to take up the cause with dedication, as they too want to put their experience and skills to use.”

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