Dehradun, September 20
In the dusk of their life, the aged in Uttarakhand face an uncertain future. Exposed to emotional neglect and lacking physical and financial support, the aged in Uttrakahand pose a challenge to the government that has so far not drafted a state policy for the elderly, three years after the passage of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007.

A population of over two lakh certainly is in need of a better care and attention. Now, after a nudge from senior citizens, the state government might take a step in this direction. At a seminar on “National Policy for Elder Persons” held today under the aegis of HelpAge India, senior citizens and representatives of NGOs put forward suggestions to Social and Welfare Minister Matbar Singh Kandari for the formulation of a state policy for elderly persons.

The state policy for the elderly will be based on the national policy that is delineated into five areas of health, nutrition, social protection and intergenerational bonding. “The proposal favours creation of senior citizen councils in the state to monitor the need and policies of the government.

It will have representatives from the Welfare Department, NGOs and senior citizens. The council will meet three or four times a year to get an overview on the problems of the elderly,” said Dr Harvinder S Bakshi, National Director Advocacy, HelpAge India.

The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 is aimed at punishing errant wards and the act makes it mandatory upon the inheritor of the property to look after his parents. Tribunals are held to provide justice to the aged.

Only 10 states in the country have their own state policy for the aged. Even Himachal Pradesh state that came up with a law that penalises the children who fail to care for their parents to this day has not come up with a state policy.

While admitting that a lot needs to be done in this area, Kandari said the government had enhanced the pension for the elderly from Rs 200 to Rs 400 and even the cap on eligibility is now 60 years, instead of 65 years. “We have disbursed pensions to more than two lakh persons and around eighty three thousand women are receiving old-age pension in the state.

Keeping in view the inflationary trend, even Rs 400 is too pithy an amount, we have put forward our proposal to the central government for further enhancement,” Kandari said.

There is a critical need for launching widespread old-care programmes in Uttarakhand as a majority of elderly live in far-flung hill regions, with little social security, economic support and access to health care. So far the government has not been able to get out of the pension driven initiatives and launch a multi-pronged strategy that takes into the nutritional, rehabilitation, emotional and social aspects of the problem.

As the joint family structures are dwindling, day-care centres and old-age homes, too, are being pushed as institutional intervention under the Maintenance Act 2007. The state has to establish at least one home in each district. It has only managed to establish only two old-age homes in Bageshwar and Chamoli.

However, the move has come a cropper, as the homes have not been able to accommodate the target group, pointing towards a deficiency in planning that failed to take into account the needs and requirement of the area. Representatives of NGOs said old-age homes should be integrated with the neighbourhood schools so that the social rehabilitation and mental stimulation of the aged and physically alert takes place side by side.

On the other hand a research has shown that family is the best institution for taking care of the elderly. In developed countries the institution is weak that is why old-age homes gained prominence.

In India, they are only seen as the last resort and are ideal for destitutes, physically and mentally-challenged patients who do not have family member to take care of them. “In India, a gradual change in the societal set up and moral values may have given rise to nuclear families, but 88 per cent of the elderly continue to live with their families and only 12 per cent are living in old-age home and see it as a last resort. Despite souring of relationship many put up a brave front and continue to pull along,” said Anis-ur Rehman, Project Development Officer, YWCA.

The old-age homes have to be designed as per needs, now demand for pay and stay old-age homes is increasing, especially among couples whose children have gone abroad.

“The empty-nest syndrome too gives rise to the feeling of loneliness that sets in first when children step out of family homes taking up careers in distant lands never to return.

Apartments and colonies dedicated to the elderly are also gaining currency. The retirees prefer living here where they feel a sense of security and kinship with the other aged. These are all private ventures. HelpAge only works among the poor elderly,” emphasised Dr Bakshi.

This rise in the number of old-age persons is alarming as a result of increase in life expectancy and the recent decline in fertility, leading to an increase in the number of elderly population. Access to health care in the rural parts of mountain districts continues to be poor.

Given the constraints of terrain and topography and the small and scattered nature of rural settlements, rendering better health facilities for the aged could be a challenge for the state government.

The biggest challenge that the government faces is in terms of social rehabilitation of the elderly who are mentally and physically-able and in the age group of 60-70 years. “The maintenance act clearly calls for involving the elderly in socially useful work like spearheading the literacy programmes and running neighbourhood schools.

 I am keen on teaching children but constraints of place and lack of focus prevented to do so,” rued AC Malhotra, a senior citizen.

Dehradun, September 20
Margaret Alva, Governor of Uttarakhand, in her greetings to people of Uttarakhand and the nation, on the joyous occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, has said, “Eid-ul-Fitr, which falls at the end of the holy month of Ramzan, symbolises the spirit of compassion and sharing.

May the spirit of charity associated with this festival help strengthen the pluralistic bonds of our composite society”.

The Governor added, “May this festival fill our lives with peace, happiness and harmony and inspire each one of us to follow the path of love and service”.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank greeting the Muslim community on the occasion hoped that the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr would bring in peace, prosperity and goodwill in the country.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat has also extended his greetings to the people of the state. He said this festival would bring peace and prosperity in the state as well as in the country.

Dehradun, September 20
With just a day left for the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations to begin, people in the city are all prepared to welcome the festival of love, devotion and gratitude towards the Almighty and humanity. After a month of continuous fasting, enthusiastic Muslims belonging to different stratas of society can be seen in crowded market places, which are beautifully decorated for the festival.

Starting from the roadside Sunday market, to all other Muslim localities and particularly outside Jama Masjid, people thronged these places to purchase all necessary items required to rejoice the spirit of the festival amid friends and family.

Women clad in burqa, along with their children, were happily shopping for their favourite items. While the women purchased bangles, clothes, sandals and even got decorative heena applied on their hands, men 
were busy splurging on kurtas and skullcaps.

“For the Eid celebrations, I have purchased glittery bangles, suit and even new sandals,” said Shabnam, a local resident.

“We have got crisp white and colourful kurtas for men in a range from Rs 150 to Rs 1,000 and for the past 15 days the business has been doing very well,” said Azeem, a shopkeeper.

Moreover, as the skullcap plays a vital role while offering prayers during the holy month of Ramzan, a variety of caps are available in the market. Karili Ahmad, a Naib Imam, who has a shop outside Jama Masjid situated in the heart of the city, says: “From itar (a strong perfume) of Mumbai and Saudi Arab to caps from Turkey and Indonesia, we have all other items such as rumaal, surma, religious books, chains, mini-Koran, which are considered religious and at the same time are pivotal to generate the mood of festivity. If the Eid moon is sighted tonight, then the next day is our day of celebrations when along with prayers, we enjoy a big meal with our loved ones,” he said.

Even outside the famous Inaah Mullah building, a one-stop area to shop most of Eid-related items, an array of caps and related items were being purchased in bulks. “I am running my shop for 20 years.

Along with neighbours, people from many other localities throng my shop during this season every year. From janamaz, itar, tehamat and religious wall hangings, I have caps in the range of Rs 10 to Rs 250. The expensive ones are hand embroidered and imported from China, Pakistan, Australia, Indonesia and Turkey,” said Waazid.

Apart from new clothes being purchased for the celebrations, eatables are also being picked up to cook delicacies such as sheer, a rich creamy sweet dish, and many non-vegetarian items. After a month of arduous fasting, on the day of Eid it’s considered pious to distribute food among friends and relatives.

“Since this morning, people are coming to purchase milk and by evening almost 300 or 400 liters will be sold,” said Mohammed Usman, a dairy owner.

Dehradun, September 20
There seem to be no takers of the proposal for setting up a new building for the district collectorate office. It was aimed at removing inconvenience to a large number of people visiting major public dealing offices housed in a congested existing premises situated in heart of the city.

More than one and half years ago, former Dehradun District Magistrate Rakesh Kumar had originally mooted the idea of using the vacant land of the old jail, which has been shifted to a new building outside the city. His successor Amit Singh Negi followed it up by writing to Chief Secretary for allotment of a part of the old jail for the purpose. The existing premises dates back to the British rule. The single floor buildings in it have only added up to the space constraints.

But the file is gathering dust in the state secretariat for unknown reasons. And the visitors to the present collectorate office are suffering on account congestion that has increased manifold since Dehradun became the capital of the state in 2000. Negi has since been transferred. The new DM D Senthil Pandian said 
he had no idea about what was done by his predecessors in this regard. But the same would be studied and sent to the competent authorities again if need be.

The urgency on part of the previous DMs stemmed from the fact that about three-acre vacant land of the total 11 acre has already been allotted for the district courts complex.

Judiciary has already taken possession of the land. But, the sections of public other than litigants still cannot hope for 
convenience, given the official apathy. It was proposed to construct a multi-level complex having adequate parking space to tackle the daily public rush by making optimum use of the available space.

Dehradun, September 20
Agents of arhat bazar here have discovered a novel method of curbing menace of rodents with the help of white mice. Experiments showed that rodents stay away from stocks of foodgrain and animal feed in the presence of white mice, hence minimised damage to foodgrain.

According to agents, the white mice do not cause any loss and adjust itself to the place after a short time. Moreover, they have shown a tendency of not leaving the place after being released there.

The menace of rodents has over a period of time become so serious that the loss caused by them is more than the expected profit from sale in a month. “The annual quantum of loss on this account becomes even difficult to assess,” said agent Vinod Goyal.

Earlier, agents used to keep lights on even after putting up shutters of their business premises to minimise damage by rodents. The earlier attempts to use traps had failed.

“We felt really helpless, as any poisonous substance could not be used as doing so might render foodgrain harmful for human use. But, we now feel relieved with the new method, which has proved effective in dealing with the rodent menace,” said another agent Mangal Singh Ghambir.