The group has come to the rescue of fellow senior citizens, over 70 years of age, who are unable to go to banks or stand in long ATM queues
If you happen to visit the Deer Park in south Delhi's Hauz Khas early in the morning, chances are that you will find a big group of senior citizens carrying banners with "Helpline — 9810488059 — for the elderly for exchange of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes" written on them.
The group has come to the rescue of fellow senior citizens, over 70 years of age, who are unable to go to banks or stand in long ATM queues. "Nearly 300-400 people from across Delhi gather at the park for morning walk and exercise, after which they sit and discuss the issues bothering them," said J R Gupta, President of the Senior Citizen Council of Delhi, an umbrella body of over 11,000 senior citizen associations across the Capital.
"We have around 200 volunteers, all in the age group of 60-65 years, who have been deployed to help the elderly who are not in a condition to go out. People call us throughout the day to seek help in exchanging currency to buy essentials, such as grocery," said Gupta, 69.
He added: "There are many elderly couples in the city who live on their own, while their children are settled elsewhere. They have ailments and need help for almost every chore. At a time like this, some of them have run out of even coins. The volunteers drop exchanged currency at their doorstep."
S L Mittal, 81, who lives with his wife at Gulmohar Park, retired from Central government service 20 years ago. He said: "My children are abroad. When demonetisation was announced, we did not know what to do. For the first two-three days, it was fine. But then we ran out of cash. We were fortunate that the group of volunteers helped us get some money exchanged. It will last us for another week."
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