World Elders' Day to be observed on October 1 in Koraput

World Elders' Day to be observed on October 1 in Koraput


The members of the organization are working round the clock, move one place to the other to identify the forgotten old people and inviting them to attend the function on October 1.
CJ: K. Sudhakar Patnaik Fri, Sep 24, 2010 12:44:12 IST

THE WORLD Senior Citizens’ Day (World Elders’ Day) for the second time this year is going to be celebrated in Koraput DISTRICT of Odisha State on the eve of World Elders’ Day 2010 on October, 1, 2010. ‘PRACHESTHA’ (an integral trust for holistic development of the society ), a non profit organisation working for the old, young and children, who are in helpless condition going to celebrate the day.

The members of the organization are working round the clock, moving from one place to the other to identify the forgotten old people and inviting them to attend the function on 1st October. It is common on the part of the old to forget 1st October as World Elders’ Day. The members of the organization once, twice, thrice and four times knock the doors of the elderly people reminding the day and requesting them to attend the function.

This itself is the new way to approach the old to invite for the celebration. The members have decided to organize a health camp and to provide medicines free of cost. They are also planning to accommodate the old comfortably, providing food, safe drinking water.

The superior Justice Dr. Debadutta Das, who is also the General Director, International Lawyers for world peace, Panel Executive, World Peace Prize Committee has given his consent to attend the function as Chief Guest. The Collector and District Magistrate, Rajesh Pravakar Patil assured to provide required financial assistance for meeting the food expenses said Manoranjan Routray, Managing Trustee of PRACHESTHA.

Manoranjan, while talking to this correspondent told that around six hundred elderly people particularly from undivided Koraput districts (Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri) are expected to attend the function. The organization also decided to honour three eminent personalities, who have contributed a lot for the benefit of the society and for the development if this region.

Seminar on ageing gracefully

Seminar on ageing gracefully

The Hindu
Online edition of India's National Newspaper


Monday, Sep 06, 2010
Staff Reporter

‘Ageing is inevitable and everyone has to confront it some day.'

KOCHI: Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) in association with the Rotary Club of Cochin is organising a seminar on ‘Ageing gracefully – planning for retirement' on September 11, targeted at people in their early fifties and for managers in Human Resource departments in various organisations as well as the general public.

Ageing is inevitable and everyone has to confront it some day, said neurologist Mathew Abraham, and retirement can be very traumatic. This is the phase when there is a sudden change in one's routine and most people find it difficult to handle the loneliness and emptiness. The feeling of uselessness is perhaps the most prevalent reason for depression, says Dr. Abraham.

Many who have held high positions begin to feel neglected as the frills attached to the position disappear with retirement.

Women are somewhat better at handling emotional problems of the sudden emptiness in their lives, says Dr. Abraham.

Since they have a routine at home and they had been dealing with a lot of emotional problems and making adjustments in the day-to-day running of the house, women are mentally more adept in settling into the new mode, Dr. Abraham said.

The seminar, to be conducted at IMA House, would take up issues of health, managing finances, legal issues and succession planning and evolving a positive mindset of indulging in activities that would not just utilise their free time but also give them a feeling of fulfilment.

A registration fee of Rs. 100 would be charged for the meeting to be held at IMA Hall, Kaloor, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For registration contact: 2315430, 2314239.

Default Retirement Age to be scrapped

Source : Age UK
Published on 29 July 2010 12:00 AM

The Government announced this morning that the Default Retirement Age will be scrapped by October 2011, under proposals published for consultation today.

Age UK has led the campaign to abolish the Default Retirement Age. Today’s welcome announcement marks a victory in our fight against age discrimination in the workplace. We believe that ending forced retirement has many benefits – giving employment security to hundreds of thousands of people, enabling people to save for longer for their retirement and allowing people the dignity of choosing when to retire. Enabling people to work and contribute their skills for longer not only keeps them active – it also makes economic sense as our population ages.

We are delighted that the Government is finally setting a clear date for the abolition of this arbitrary and unfair law. Around 100,000 people were forced to retire at or after 65 last year by this discriminatory measure. Scrapping the DRA means security for the hundreds of thousands more previously at risk of being forced out of their jobs simply because of their age.

Michelle Mitchell, Age UK Charity Director, said: “Everybody stands to win from scrapping forced retirement. People over 65 will have full employment rights for the first time. The economy will benefit from older workers’ precious skills and experience and their increased buying power. Public finances will receive a boost from more people paying taxes for longer.”

Sr citizens’ associations to protest on Aug 16 against government ignorance

Sr citizens’ associations to protest on Aug 16 against government ignorance


Published: Saturday, Aug 14, 2010, 3:41 IST

By Linah Baliga
Place: Mumbai
Agency: DNA

Associations of senior citizens from across the country have decided to observe a national protest day at Azad Maidan on August 16.

The All India Senior Citizens’ Confederation (AISCCON) and the Federation of Senior Citizens of Maharashtra (FESCOM) had been trying for three years to draw the government’s attention to the non-implementation of provisions in the National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP), 1999. With no response forthcoming, the bodies have decided to protest with the support of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Tiss).

Elderly people would come together to tell the government that they could affect voting patterns in elections. “Eighty per cent of senior citizens vote,” said Nasreen Rustomfram, a professor at the Tiss and chairperson of its centre for lifelong learning. “Given that the elderly form a large part of the electorate, political will must be created to address their concerns.”

DN Chapke, secretary general of the AISCCON, said, “There are so many senior citizens who do not get one square meal a day. They don’t have any savings. With rising inflation, the major issue is health. Our demand is that universal health care be provided free of cost by the government.” Other demands include that one representative of senior citizens should be present on the committee that disburses pensions. Also, the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (2007) amount should be increased from Rs400 to Rs500.

“This will give some dignity to senior citizens, as they will not be required to leave their homes due to lack of money,” said S Siva Raju, professor and chairperson of the school for social sciences at the Tiss.

“We should promote the concept of ageing at home, where they can have facilities and continue to lead a meaningful life. They are often not mentally and culturally prepared to move away from home.” Senior citizens have also demanded that day care centres be set up in each locality in the city. Chapke said, “This will reduce the need of old age homes. The centres should be within a radius of one km from their homes.”