Centre to help senior citizens utilise free time

Divya Sharma

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 19

To help senior citizens of the city in utilising their free time in a constructive way, the Amritsar Cantonment Board (ACB) has come up with Senior Citizens Day Care Centre in Cantonment area.

The centre is located inside the cantonment park. Members of the ACB converted the unused rooms located inside the park into the centre.

A number of residents visit the park on a daily basis in the morning and evening hours.

The centre has been divided into two rooms. One room has been especially dedicated to avid readers. A collection of books, novels and newspaper have been placed at the shelves along with a television set in the room.

A table tennis board, dartboard, carrom board and table football are present in the second room so that the senior citizens can play indoor games.

The centre has been kept open for civilians as well army officials.

According to the ACB, the main objective of the centre is to help senior citizens in utilising their time by availing the facilities being offered for strengthening their mental and physical health.

Talking about the motive behind opening the centre for senior citizens, Dhiraj Sonaje, Chief Executive Officer, ACB, said, “There were two rooms that were lying vacant and were of no use. During one of my visits to the park, I noticed that a large number of senior citizens were present at the park. I thought of doing something constructive for them. Therefore, the idea to construct a care centre came.”

The ACB members revamped the rooms and dedicated them for senior citizens.

Around Rs one lakh has been spent by the ACB for repairs of the rooms.

Though a number of things have been placed to attract the senior citizens, a huge fibre-made chess board is also placed at the entrance of the centre. It is light in weight and anyone can play the game.

“The chess board has been placed so that the visitors can keep themselves mentally fit by playing chess. The board is light in weight and has become a centre of attraction. We have been receiving a lot of compliments about it. One has to deposit his identity card with the cantonment authorities to play chess. The card will be returned after playing the game,” added Sonaje.

One can visit the centre from 8.00 am to 10.00 am and 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm.