Wednesday, 19 January 2022 | Purnima Bisht | Dehradun
Senior citizens in Uttarakhand have expressed dismay at being neglected by political parties which have failed to address their concerns ahead of the assembly elections. Many said that the parties do not even care about including their issues in the election manifestos despite the fact that there are over 14 lakh people in the state aged 60 years and above. A senior citizen and president of Senior Citizens Welfare Society, Atul Joshi said that the political parties have always sidelined the concerns of senior citizens in the state which should be discussed and tackled in a respectful manner. He stated, “Senior citizens are people with significant experience and they should be involved in the policymaking procedure to address the grave concerns of old people across the state. There is no prominent health policy or safety policy for senior citizens, especially for those who are underprivileged or live in the remote and mountainous areas of the state.” According to him, there are government health schemes for senior citizens but most of them are beneficial only to those retired from a government job. He stated, “Many senior citizens continue to work even after crossing the age of 60 like those working in private organisations, daily wage workers and farmers. They have to look after their families and cannot afford basic health facilities. Many elderly live alone after their children move out for jobs purposes, especially in the villages of mountainous regions. Such people face immense trouble during any health or safety crisis but there is no effective policy that can help them during such times. There are already lots of issues in the remote areas including lack of health facilities and proper means of transportation which add insult to the injury of a senior citizen.” He said that steps like monitoring senior citizens can be taken to regularly supervise their condition at a local level with the help of authorities. “According to a census, there are at least about 13 to 14 lakh senior citizens across the state that can easily affect the outcome of the elections. So rather than being apathetic and sidelining them, the political parties should start addressing their concerns and work on them after forming the government,” added Joshi.
Another senior citizen from Haldwani, Paan Singh Rana said that the parties should also talk about providing employment opportunities to senior citizens who can work and cannot afford to live on the mere monthly pensions. “I and my wife collectively get about Rs 3,000 as the monthly old-age pension. I had the responsibility of raising my two grandchildren who lost their parents a few years ago. I somehow managed my monthly expenses as a daily labourer for a few months but not everyone hires an old person for a job that needs physical strength. My older daughter is now looking after my grandchildren as we were unable to bear the expenses. I have observed that the government provides some women employment opportunities. Why can’t the same be done for us? I am not asking for free money but an opportunity to earn. Not every senior citizen is privileged enough to stay at home and relax after turning 60,” said Rana. Another senior citizen from Dehradun, Rekha Payal said that the political parties should include developing places like parks in their manifestos where old people can gather and connect with one another. She said, “There is a significant lack of parks in Dehradun where senior citizens can go out and interact with other people. Such places have been developed in other states but nothing is being done here. Many old people live alone and tend to get depressed due to loneliness. This might appear to be insignificant for some but it would surely benefit the mental health of many senior citizens.”
