Loneliness deepens at old age homes, anxiety constant companion

The managements of some of these homes also claim to be short of funds, as they had stocked up only till April 14, the original last day of the curfew in the state

Ludhiana: Lonely dinners with only two (from the earlier three) on a large table, a cut in the number of attendants, emotional turmoil, anxiety and desperately trying to find some solace in epics being re-telecast, these have come to define the lives of around 600 senior citizens putting up across 10 old age homes of the city. The managements of some of these homes also claim to be short of funds, as they had stocked up only till April 14, the original last day of the curfew in the state.

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“We try to maintain our spirit by singing songs and reciting poems, but boredom creeps in. We have been unable to take a walk and talk to people, our favourite pastime,” says a 72-year-old at one such facility, not wanting to be named. He adds that watching news channels scared him. A 77-year-old says, “The re-telecast of serials like Ramayana and Mahabharata is a solace.”

Shruti Bansal, an office-bearer at Nishkam Sewa Ashram, Daad village, on Pakhowal Road, says, “We house 35 elderly. With visits to and fro the facility closed, we may fall short of funds, as we had made arrangements only till April 14.”

Major general Hemant Joneja (retd), 60, general manager at Dreams and Beauty Charitable Trust, keeping the elderly engaged is a challenge. Joneja is looking after 300 elderly and 50 orphans at the facility named, Heavenly Palace in Doraha.

“We used to celebrate collective birthdays, that practice has been curtailed. At meals, we have reduced the number of people to two from three. The number of attendants has also been cut. Inmates are very cooperative.” He added all persons and vehicles moving out for essential services were being disinfected upon re-entry.

At the Swami Vivekananda Old Age Home in Model Town there are 60 inmates that Vivekananad Swarg Ashram Trust manages. Trust vice-president Sanjiv Bharti says apart from following all social distancing norms, two nurses were always available.

‘No one will come to hospital to care for me’

Tarn Taran/Amritsar The fear of having no blood relative to take care of her of is what gnaws constantly at 71-year-old Kailash Kaur, one of the 65 inmates at Chief Khalsa Diwan-run Bhai Vir Singh Vridh Ghar (old-age home) in Tarn Taran for 15 years. “I am not afraid of dying. I don’t want to go to hospital because no one will come after me for my care,” says Kaur, adding that her husband had abandoned her as she could not bear a child.

“Before the curfew was enforced in Punjab, seven inmates had gone to meet their relatives. They are not being allowed to return, till they get tested for covid-19 and are found negative,” said Gurbax Singh, 65, the superintendent of the home. “We have also instructed inmates not to come out of rooms, unless there is an emergency. Meals are delivered to their rooms. We have provided masks and sanitisers. Only three to four elderly persons are allowed at a time to go to the community hall for reading newspaper and books,” he adds.

In Amritsar, none of the old age homes allowed access to HT. Col Darshan Singh Bawa (retd), administrator of one such institute running under the Pingalwara Charitable Society, told HT over phone, “No one is allowed inside and the inmates cannot go out. We allow the elderly to walk only within the Manawala campus.” He added, “Chairs in the common room have been rearranged and we take special concern for their diet. Dr Inderjit Kaur, chairperson of the society helps if they need routine medical help for minor ailments.”

—Anil Sharma and Surjit Singh