The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : For the elderly, by the elderly

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Monday, Jun 16, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

For the elderly, by the elderly

Staff Reporter

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day observed in city

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

CREATING AWARENESS: Senior citizens staging a street play in Bangalore on Sunday.

Bangalore: On Sunday morning, a crowd had gathered around an old woman at the Shivajinagar bus stand, who was lying in distress on a mattress, complaining about the “harassment” by her family. The old woman was also thinking of approaching a helpline for senior citizens.

It was only a scene from a short street play that depicted the plight of many elderly across the country, on the occasion of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and to create awareness about the helpline. As many as 25 enthusiastic participants from different parts of the city who staged the street play managed to draw the attention of the commuters disembarking and boarding buses at the bus stand. The event was organised by Nightingales Medical Trust and Bangalore City Police.

Along with counsellors and doctors from the trust, a group of senior citizens also sang about how they would like to be treated with respect, hoping to get the message across to both the young and old alike who gathered to watch the play.

Wearing white aprons and carrying banners, the senior citizens took signatures of people who vouched to protect the elderly from abuse. The road show and signature campaign would go from place to place and spread the word.

Radha. S. Murthy, managing trustee of the trust, said, “The elderly are abused emotionally, more than anything else. And this sort of abuse is not something people can find out about easily.”

A van displaying banners saying “Treat Elders with Respect” and “Protect the Elderly” was a part of the road show that started from the bus stand. The road show went around the city, especially to bus stops at Majestic, Shanthinagar, City Market, Gandhi Bazaar and Mysore Road. The programme was inaugurated by H. Chittaranjan, Director of Welfare of Disabled and Senior Citizens.

Addressing all kinds of abuse and harassment is the Elders’ Helpline Ph: 1090, which was started four years ago. It has dealt with 5,785 cases.

According to statistics, 40 per cent of the elderly live with their families and in Bangalore, 2,40,000 of them are abused in some way or the other. The helpline offers all kinds of services from legal help to police intervention to issuing identity cards for the elderly.

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