Conclave for senior citizens at Talkatora on August 14

Giving voice to their needs in the twilight years, the Senior Citizens Federation of Indian is organising a large conclave for elderly citizens at Talkatora Stadium on August 14.

Giving voice to their needs in the twilight years, the Senior Citizens Federation of Indian is organising a large conclave for elderly citizens at Talkatora Stadium on August 14.

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To be inaugurated by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Nitin Gadkari, the conclave will deliberate on the condition of a large number of senior citizens who are neither provided any facilities by the government nor are look after by their children.

Former union minister and founder of the federation Vijay Kumar Goel said the federation would raise its demands for creation of National Commission for Senior Citizens, provision for recreational centres in all colonies, free medical insurance for senior citizens above 75 and increase in their monthly pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 a month.

The federation also demands creation of a corpus where trillions of rupees lying unclaimed in accounts of deceased senior citizens could be transferred and used for the benefit of senior citizens. "There are more than eight crore senior citizens in the country. While there are no government facilities for them, many are even ignored by their children. A large number of them are also caught in property disputes. They need our help and empathy. The federation is working in that direction," Goel said.

Goel said his team has been visiting parks and public places early morning for the past three months and meeting senior citizens to understand their issues and convincing them to come together and form a group.