THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A project warmly christened ‘guardian angel’ has been stuck on paper for the last four years. Had the project been implemented, local police stations will have always been at the beck and call of senior citizens within their jurisdiction, not just for medical emergencies but also to fetch a plumber or a maid or an electrician. The main component of the project was the creation of a register of senior citizens within the jurisdiction of each of the 400-odd police stations in the state.
The register was planned as a comprehensive one with relevant details like medical history of senior citizens and dependant addresses. None of the stations have created such a register even though a directive to this effect was issued by the DGP way back in 2010. Police sources said a beginning had been made. “Stations are helping out the old in various places, it is just that the concept has not have evolved into a mass movement of sorts,” said a top police official who was in the team that drew up the contours of the project. The official said helplines have been set up and that the police checks up on the history of maids working in houses of old couples.
“I have read about these services in newspapers but have not benefited from them,” said Dr Thomas Vattaparambil of the Institute of Gerontological Studies. “We have not had any policemen visiting our house to collect details,” he said. There are helplines in police stations but those are general ones. The project had intended to set up a toll-free helpline number for senior citizens. The creation of a Geriatric Register was a directive issued by the DGP in a circular issued in 2010 after rules were framed for the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007.
