Will activate helpline for senior citizens: RR Patil

State home minister RR Patil assured the organisations representing senior citizens that the helpline and the website dedicated for elderly persons would be activated immediately. He also said that they would start similar facilities on district levels.

After a spate of murders of senior citizens, the representatives took the grievances to the home minister on Friday. They alleged that the helpline (1090) and the website dedicated for the senior citizens have not been functional for last six months.

Patil told the delegation  that senior citizens too are expected to cooperate with the police in registration and data collection.

“We do not have problems in providing data and registration of senior citizens but there are doubts about the misuse of information given by senior citizens,”  said SP Kinjawadekar, former president, Federation of Senior Citizens Organisations Maharashtra. “The police demand photographs of the domestic helps. Servants choose to leave the job than giving photos.”

He said the helpline started in 2003 by the then Mumbai police chief AN Roy has been dysfunctional for last six months. “There are around 10 lakh elderly persons living in the MMR region and about 11% of them are lonely. They had found solace in the helpline.”

Sailesh Mishra of Silver Innings organisation has said the registration of senior citizens should be done by the cooperative housing societies. “It would be convenient for them to have the data of the elderly person living in their society,” he said.