In a first, U’khand to have sr citizens’ councils in civic bodies

 DEHRADUN: Reaffirming its reputation for being a haven for the elderly, Uttarakhand is now going to form a senior citizens' council to advise the administration in matters related to their welfare as well as on important civic issues. Announcing the first-of-its-kind initiative, chief minister Harish Rawat said on Sunday that such councils would be part of major civic bodies in the hill state, including Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, Haldwani and Roorkee.

Rawat said he had already instructed senior bureaucrats to work out the modalities for setting up such councils across Kumaon and Garhwal regions. Speaking at an event organized by Federation of Senior Citizens Association in the state capital, the CM said the members and other office-bearers of these councils would be chosen from those who are already associated with various elderly welfare organizations in the state.

"After the council takes shape, we'll make efforts to ensure that suggestions of these senior citizens are utilized in other areas too," he said. "We are planning to utilize the vast experience of these elderly persons on other fronts too, to improve governance in the state," a senior bureaucrat in Dehradun said.'

Members of different self-help groups and other non-political organizations said the move will not only help senior citizens who have to often run from pillar to post to get their works done, but also upgrade civic bodies to a large extent. Uttarakhand, which has a higher population of senior citizens, has been considered safe for the elderly. Last month, data released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) showed that crime against the elderly was negligible in the hill state with not a single person above the age of 60 having been murdered in the state last year. In comparison, neighboring states, like Uttar Pradesh, had as many as 174 senior citizen murders committed in 2014.

TOI