Kerala: Panchayat to launch ‘Pakalveedu’ for elderly

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Chirayinkeezhu grama panchayat has decided to launch ‘Pakalveedu’ for senior citizens. The project is part of making the panchayat elderly-friendly.
‘Pakalveedu’ will be constructed at a cost of Rs 6 lakh. It will provide space for senior citizens who have no relatives and staying alone and those who are having serious ailments. They can spend the daytime at this house where they will be given food. Services of medical practitioners will also be made available.
Apart from this, the panchayat has also decided to start clubs for senior citizens in all the wards. These clubs will become a platform for the elderly to perform various cultural activities. The grama panchayat would also provide free medicines to the elderly.
“As part of the project, it has been decided to provide a bus service for senior citizens to reach this home from their places. They will be picked up from their houses and will be dropped back in the evening,’’ said Chirayinkeezhu grama panchayat president P Murali.
This project has been conceptualized to resolve the concerns put forward by the elderly people in a meeting convened by the panchayat.
The home has been designed in such a way that it would have a walking area, bedrooms, kitchen and an entertainment room with television and carrom boards, he said.
Meanwhile, the feasibility for providing a boarding facility for the families who are financially backward are also under consideration. The beneficiaries of the scheme will be those people who are not financially stable or those who have been left alone by their children. The admission will start soon and the services are expected to start from September, he added.