Bhubaneswar: Senior citizens are like the trees of wisdom in our society. Their wisdom does not come from any book. It comes from their deep understanding of life. No society can grow or move forward by ignoring its senior citizens, said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday. He was attending the Foundation Day celebration of the Federation of Senior Citizens Association here.
He also said that senior citizens are a source of immense knowledge and experience and can guide the younger generation to handle the situations better.
“We must appreciate their wisdom and value their contribution to society. My government has always been sensitive to the needs of senior citizens of our state. We are providing monthly pension to more than 27 lakh senior citizens under different schemes,” said the Chief Minister.
About the schemes for senior citizens in Odisha, Naveen said, “In 2016, the Odisha government had put in place Odisha Senior Citizens Policy. The policy envisages a number of welfare provisions for senior citizens. We are setting up 200-bed Old Age Homes in all districts in a phased manner. We are also setting up Geriatric Care Wards and Counselling Centres at all district-level hospitals.”
“We have opened Senior Citizen Security Cells in all police stations. Besides, state awards are being conferred upon individuals and institutions for making outstanding achievements in different fields, especially in geriatric care,” he added.
In view of the spiritual pursuit of senior citizens, the Odisha Government has been running Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana since 2016, said Naveen. Thousands of senior citizens have availed the facility under this popular scheme to visit several religious places across the country, he added.
“I thank the Federation of Senior Citizens for their endeavour to unite and lead a healthy social life and for making a constructive contribution to the society. I wish all of you a healthy and happy life,” said the Chief Minister.
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