In a unique initiative by the Mapusa police on World Senior Citizen's Day on Sunday, the men in khaki went door to door gifting the elders with flowers and greeting cards, catching many by surprise. One is reminded of the times when police held traffic awareness campaigns and distributed roses to violators of road rules intending to usher in a change of mindset through positive ways.
The SDPO Mapusa felt the need to improve relationships between police and senior citizens, and there is no disputing that. It may be heartening to see a policeman at the doorstep on occasions and festivals trying to bring cheer to senior citizens and restore their confidence in the police, but these courtesy visits can only provide a feel-good moment, nothing beyond that. More than such tokenism, senior citizens in Mapusa and the rest of Goa need practical help in distressful times. A bunch of flowers and a card, even if it is inscribed with a special message from the DGP or the CM, would mean very little against the problems and hardships faced by seniors in their day-to-day living.
Goa has several cases of senior citizens remaining isolated in their residences with family members migrating. The struggles here are insurmountable. Besides the lack of companionship, they are sometimes left helpless facing challenges in their daily life to an extent of even struggling to source medicines, and such a situation was in full glare during the peak of Covid in 2021. Against such a background, there is a need to be practical and focus on the welfare of senior citizens first. Seniors need health care and they need social and economic support. Many senior citizens are vulnerable to abuse.
While the government talks about “Sarkar Tumchya Dari" (governance at doorstep), an initiative aimed at grievance redressal and ensuring welfare schemes reach citizens, there is no mechanism to address issues of isolated senior citizens. The Geriatric Medicine Centre at GMC and the aid from NGOs and religious institutions are positives for their welfare. A police helpline for senior citizens launched in 2019 and a system of police checking on registered citizens periodically are also welcome initiatives, but there is a lot that still needs to be done. According to 2013 statistics, Goa has over 75,000 senior citizens.
Flowers and greetings are humble gestures from the police, but when serious issues are looming, such flowery exercises pale out and appear to be intended more for optics rather than the greater good of seniors. On the contrary, police must have more frequent engagements with senior citizens across the State. Don’t remember them only on these few special days like Senior Citizen’s Day. A consistent engagement will not only help build up trust but will do a world of good to their security and living.
Instead of symbolism, try out practical ways to alleviate the problems of senior citizens.
