Inmates rue poor upkeep of old-age homes in city
Ajay Joshi
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, April 30
The dilapidated state of Indian Red Cross Society’s District old age home speaks a lot of unheard stories. Currently housing around 13 inmates, this old age residential home is situated three hundred meters away from the city’s centrally located DAV college and is isolated from the hustle bustle of the city. Elderly people who come here to spend rest of their life peacefully, after being abandoned from their own house are not satisfied with the with the condition of their apartments there.
Though every inmate kept mum to speak anything against the administration, some of them revealed the shortcomings at the senior citizen home only on the condition of anonymity. They said their cause of concern was that there were no emergency provisions for the inmates and no provisions had also been made by the management to provide desired help to them.
They rued it was even tough to reach the main road on our own as no conveyance was available at the home. The management asks for extra money to provide emergency vehicles to the inmates, added another 73-year-old inmate.
The manager of the old age home, Paramjit Singh said, “The administration has taken account of the problem but it was difficult for us to arrange a van for whole of the day. Though he claimed that helpers have been deployed there to shift the inmates in case of any emergency but the inmates denied this claim and no particular person was hired to look after them.
A 65-year-old inmate who has recently joined the home said for the last 15 days, he had not seen any sweeper there. He himself had to clean his room and the corridor.
Concerns of inmates
- Inmates rue that that there are no emergency provisions for them, it is difficult for them to reach the main road on their own in the absence of any conveyance.
- They are being charged extra money for the arrangement of emergency vehicles.
- No vocational training and entertainment facility for the inmates as is being claimed by the Red Cross Society.
- Inmates also complain of absence of sweepers..
