Bangalore: Ramappa (name changed) from Ranganath Colony has to worry about getting a job and where his next meal will come from. What is wrong with that, you may ask. Only, he is 80. This unfortunate man was told by his wife and son that unless he went out to work and earned Rs. 1 lakh, he would not be allowed into the house or given food.

"My son, who does not go to work, and my wife duped me into signing some papers and sold the site given to me by my company for Rs. 9 lakh a few years ago. Now they are harassing me to ask the buyer to pay an additional Rs. 3 lakh as the price of the land has gone up. Otherwise, I should earn some money, they say," said Ramappa.

If it is not harassment by family, it is cheating of vulnerable senior citizens by people out to make a fast buck, as in the case of 78-year-old P. Venkatesh (name changed). He had opened a demat account with a private financial institution and transferred all his shares. When he got back from a pilgrimage, which he undertook shortly afterwards, he was shocked to see that all his shares had been transferred to another account.

Changing lifestyles

Even as the number of older people in India is growing, there is a lack of sensitivity to the needs of senior citizens — not just among members of society but also the Government. Changing lifestyles and nuclear families are making the aged more vulnerable to exploitation and neglect.

According to U.N. projections, in the year 2025 we will have a projected 1.2 billion elderly people, with 71 per cent of them in the developing regions. In India, there were 77 million elderly persons in 2001 and this number is expected to grow to 100 million by 2013.

Helpline

Closer home in Bangalore, which once was touted as Pensioner's Paradise but now is a fast city for the young, what is being done to make life a little more easy for those living out their twilight years?

The Elders' Helpline (1090), a joint initiative of the Bangalore City Police Commissioner's office and the Nightingales Medical Trust allows senior citizens to access information about schemes for the aged and voice their grievances.

Between April 2006 and March 2007, it received 490 complaints about various problems faced by senior citizens, including harassment by family members, financial cheating by individuals or agencies, complaints against old age homes and so on.

Abuse of elders is a matter of concern because it happens mostly within the four walls of the house and does not come out in the open easily, said Radha Murthy, Managing Trustee of Nightingales Medical Trust.

Day-care centres

"Many of them come to us asking for shelter because they do not want to stay with their family as they feel they are not wanted. Old age homes cannot be the only solution. There is a need for more day-care centres that allow old people to get emotional support from their families," Dr. Murthy said.

Abused

"The aged who come to our day-care centres are mostly from slums in Vinayakanagar, Shanthinagar, L.R. Nagar, Austin Town and Ambedkarnagar. Many of them are abused by their children who do not give them food and clothing and in some cases, their old age pension is taken away from them," said T.G. Aruna, Project Manager of Sandhya Kirana, which works for the welfare of the elderly.

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