‘Old age is not a liability but a responsibility’

Nagpur: Old age is not a liability but a responsibility. Many people neglect their parents during old age but they need to understand, old age is a stage of life during which elderly are vulnerable and they need our help like they did for us during our childhood, said former chancellor of DY Patil Medical University Dr SW Kulkarni here on Thursday.
Dr Kulkarni said the words while speaking on the topic ‘Senior citizen care’ during the World Population Day programme held at Nagpur University. NU registrar Vinayak Deshpande, public relations officer Shyam Dhond and head of department of economics Sneha Deshpande shared the dais.
The event was jointly organized by economics department and lifelong learning department of NU in cooperation with Dadvi Hospital. July 11 is celebrated as World Population Day for making people understand the value of birth control and make them aware of disadvantages and discomforts we can face due to ever-increasing population.
Dr Kulkarni further said, “Elderly people need to keep their confidence high and have self-belief that they would not become slaves to diseases. Also they should have the zeal to fight the diseases. Here comes the role of their relatives and NGOs who must boost their self-confidence and remind them that they are not alone.”
“The elderly people need to be aware of the helpline numbers provided to them by the government and hospitals. They also need to keep themselves updated about various government initiatives and schemes,” he said.
Dr Kulkarni also spoke about the responsibility of children towards their own parents, diseases old people suffer from and what precautions should be taken to avoid them, family pension scheme and insurance.
Hitesh Dadhmal conducted the proceedings of the event where students of Dadvi Hospital, Shramdeep Institute, Viveksheel Mitra Pariwar, Anjuman Girls College and NU economics and lifelong learning departments attended.
(Reporting by Himesh Pande & Varun Jangade)