INDIA: Mysore gets a day care centre for senior citizens

. MYSORE, Karnataka / The Times of India / June 29, 2009 India's oldest man Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi, 112, swears by Vedas and meditation. "I have seen four generations of my family and am a content man," he claimed recently. But not all senior citizens are as lucky as him. Deprived of love and care, all that they crave for is a decent living. Helping in realise their dream is the Dignity Mysore Satellite Centre, a day care centre for senior citizens, launched in the city on Sunday. A unit of the NGO Dignity Foundation, the centre works towards providing social support to the elderly. The foundation aims to provide them with opportunities for a productive living, help during medical emergency, financial aid, and companionship. The veteran citizens looked at it as a unit that would offer them the much needed moral support. Veeraswamy Krishna told The Times of India: "I am happy that such a unit is launched. The elderly are often sidelined by their own kith and kin. We need centres and senior citizen groups of legal advisors and doctors. We are often too lonely. Even government should come forward to notice us." Another senior citizen Sathyavathamma said, "such centres would be of great help. I live alone as my children have sidelined me. For people like me, such centres might prove to be of some help." The state chief minister's parliamentary secretary S A Ramadass observed that the elderly crave for love and affection. "They are our pride. We need to look after them and their needs. We should use their knowledge and experience. There are several knowledgeable engineers and government officials among the elderly living around us. People may age but their valuable personalities never change. Let us not neglect them," he added. [rc] Copyright © 2009 Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd