Law to protect senior citizens

NT NETWORK
Posted on 2008-10-02
PANAJI - The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 that provides for the maintenance of parents and senior citizens and puts the onus of their maintenance on their children along with the commitment that the action plan for the welfare of senior citizens whereby all things that are covered by the Act would be implemented in a time-bound manner, was launched on Wednesday on the International Day for Senior Citizens. The implementation of the Act was symbolically launched by the Social Welfare Minister, Mr Ramkrishna Dhavalikar.
The ex-deputy chief minister and state Nationalist Congress Party president, Dr Wilfred De Souza was among the 31 senior citizens who were felicitated at the function.
Speaking after the launch, Mr Dhavalikar said that this portfolio was better than his earlier held portfolio, the public works department, arguing, “If a man really wants to do social work than this department and the women and child department are the best ones and since I have taken over around four months back, I am trying to do my best.”
He regretted that they had little time to prepare for the function and hence could only felicitate a few senior citizens and expressed his happiness that the Act would be implemented properly. He said that there are many things to be implemented in this Act and that it should be taken to all corners of the state.
Earlier, Dr Wilfred De Souza in his speech was of the opinion that the Act had to be modified to suit the needs of the Goan populace and said that here the problem was of migration in general and not of ill treatment of the parents. He also asked the government to review the amount to be paid under the DSS scheme for the elderly and destitute in view of the price rise.
Pulling Social Welfare Minister’s leg, he jocularly remarked that he was surprised over his felicitation on Wednesday arguing that maybe the minister and his colleagues wanted to “give me a hint” but stressed that he would continue to keep working and keep on bringing out the defects and faults in the government especially as he was the president of the coalition partner of the government.
Tongue-in-cheek he commented that with age comes experience and argued that it was not just enough to give the elderly, money or bus concessions or ID cards but they had to be taken care of and they should get the best of facilities.
The director of Social Welfare, Mr N Narvekar proposed the vote of thanks while the chief of the senior citizens committee, Dr Hemant Karapurkar, in his welcome address outlined the various schemes that were taken up for the benefit of senior citizens in the past.