A 'Prateeksha' for senior citizens
KOCHI: In an attempt to make sure that senior citizens living at old age homes run by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the district are getting the benefits and services offered by the government, the district administration along with social justice department (SJD) have launched a project called 'Prateeksha' (Hope).
Social justice department officials said that though there was data regarding the elderly population at government-run old age homes in the district, there were no records regarding the elderly people living in private/NGO-run homes.
"As a result, we are also not aware of the fact that whether the programmes and services intended for senior citizens are reaching the right hands," said an official in the department
"With the proportion of aged population in Kerala going to touch 20% in the next 10 years, the state government has to come up with projects and schemes for their welfare," the official said.
Meanwhile, as part of the first phase of the project, volunteers of Nehru Yuva Kendra carried out a survey to find out detailed information regarding elderly citizens at old age homes in the district.
"Survey was conducted in 96 NGO-run old age homes in the district, and it found that there are 20,631 inmates in these homes. In the survey, we found out that around 20% of the inmates who are eligible for pension are not receiving it. Similarly, around 10% have no Aadhaar and ration cards," said an official with the Nehru Yuva Kendra. The data is still being analyzed.