INDIA: Plans to set up bigger old age home in Padappai, extend helpline facilities

. CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu / The Times of India / March 22, 2009 By K. Praveen Kumar The increasing problem of the elderly being abandoned and left to fend for themselves as also the aspect of a large population of old people living alone have forced the Tamil Nadu government to plan more old-age homes. The alarming number of the elderly being thrown out of homes and dumped in old-age homes has put severe pressure on many such homes in Chennai, most of which are fully occupied. The social welfare department plans to set up a bigger old-age home in 10 acres of land in Padappai, Kancheepuram, K Manivasan, commissioner, social welfare department told The Times Of India. The department also plans to extend helpline facilities for women and the elderly to major corporations in the state as the problem is becoming acute in urban areas. "We have directed the district administration in the state to increase the capacity to house elderly people and to have their own buildings for the purpose. The growing population of aging people is a matter we have to reckon with," Manivasan said. In Chennai city, which has the second highest proportion of the elderly (to the total population) among Indian metros, there are only two government-run old-age homes. There are eight old-age homes run by NGOs that operate with Union government funding. "The present capacity of all these homes put together is not enough to house those who have been abandoned in the city. Moreover, the resources are minimal to take care of such a large population of ailing elderly," a social welfare department staff member said. He added that most homes were cramped buildings where there was no scope for development. "We need to have better facilities for rehabilitation of the elderly," he said. Manivasan maintained that the primary objective of his department was to reunite the abandoned elderly with their families. "The family members have to be counselled and told about the importance of family values. We are focusing more on the counselling aspect. We admit a person in an old-age home only as a last resort. We try to reunite the person with the family after instilling a sense of responsibility in the members," he said. According to statistics provided by HelpAge India, which runs the helpline for the elderly with the police, old-age homes are the only resort available for the abandoned elderly. "Only a small number of these people are reunited with their families. Most of them do not want to go back. We see very less number of cases were the family members come to us in search of their parents," Santhosh Kumar of HelpAge India said. praveen.kumar8@timesgroup.com Copyright © 2009 Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd