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'Lawyers lack awareness of act for senior citizens'

Proper implementation will improve their life, SD Gokhale said.

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President of International Longevity Centre-India (ILC) SD Gokhale on Tuesday said the lack of awareness about the Enactment of Maintenance Act, 2007 among the masses including government officials and the lawyers is the reason for the plight of senior citizens.

He said the awareness needs to be increased for proper implementation of the law that works for the better life of senior citizens.

“Despite the act, there seems to be a lack of knowledge about it in the masses. Many officers and lawyers themselves are not aware of the law and hence, the efficient implementation of the law cannot be witnessed,’’ Gokhale said.

He was speaking at the one-day workshop on ‘Abuse and crimes against senior citizens particularly in the wake of Enactment of Maintenance Act, 2007’ held at the Bharatiya Vidyapeeth Deemed University, More Vidyalaya campus, Paud Road on Tuesday.

The workshop was organised in the wake of various problems being faced by senior citizens. According to Gokhale, the biggest issue that has plagued the lives of senior citizens is the growing rate of abandonment, the senior citizens are subjected to.

Retd IPS officer Bhaskarrao Misal said despite the presence of efficient legal machinery, the reason that the senior citizens are at the receiving end is because of lack of efficient use of the machinery.

“The younger generation has the tough task of using government machinery for social causes,’’ he said

Dean of Bharati Vidyapeeth New Law College Mukund Sarda said the state should take lessons from other states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Delhi for proper implementation of the act. “If you compare the number of cases registered under this act in Maharashtra with these states, it will be revealed that the numbers are very less. The prime reason for this is the lack of awareness about the act among the masses,’’ he said.

According to him, efforts have to be made to highlight the plight of senior citizens by incorporating this act in the syllabus of law schools and social studies. “If the universities make active efforts to include this act in the syllabus, then, the students can incorporate the features of this act and thus, create awareness,’’ he said

Sarda also emphasised that the government should create a maintenance fund for senior citizens from where they can get benefits even after abandonment.

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