West Bengal: KMC to monitor condition of senior citizens living alone in high rises in the city

Banerjee had on Thursday asked the city civic body to collate details about senior citizens living alone in apartments in the city. (File image)

As elederly citiens living alone, or with little manpower in high rises in the city face a tough time during the ongoing pandemic, Kolkata Municipal Corporation will coordinate with the resident associations to monitor their conditions. The move comes in the wake of reports of ailing senior citizens not getting any treatment in their apartments for days with little or no help from their neighbours who stay away due to the fear of coronavirus or are unaware of their condition.

Member, Board of Administrators, KMC Swapan Samaddar told PTI on Saturday, “We are already coordinating with residential associations of hundreds of high rises in east Kolkata under two police stations.”

“We have asked the residential associations to give a list of the senior citizens in every housing society to the ward coordinators. The ward coordinators will form a group of volunteers who will regularly inquire about each elderly person and pass on information to KMC in case of an emergency. The coordinator will then be in touch with the KMC, police and health department if needed ” Samaddar said. He said the ward coordinator will have phone number of every housing society representative. Samaddar said a group of 18 volunteers comprising educated students from higher secondary pass-outs, mundergraduates and even those who have completed their masters have been formed in his borough area and are already on the job.

“We had initiated similar step since the lockdown began in east Kolkata area with our own team of civic personnel and Asha workers. As Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently laid stress on 24×7 coordination with housing societies we are now establishing contacts with each society in a more organised manner and creating a database of their phone numbers,” he said.

Banerjee had on Thursday asked the city civic body to collate details about senior citizens living alone in apartments in the city. She also asked for similar initiatives for the elderly in Bidhan Nagar, New Town, Dumdum and Barrackpore commissionerate areas. Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who has been appointed the nodal officer for COVID management in Kolkata, had held a meeting with civic officials on Friday for regular updates about the condition of senior citizens living in housing societies.