Fundamental Duties and Senior Citizens

Fundamental Duties and Senior Citizens

 

The Constitution of India is by far the most important document spelling out what we Indians shall or shall not do as a nation as a whole. As a nation comprises of people, provisions in the constitution say what citizens should and should not do in very broad terms. Common man, when he hears the phrase Constitution of India,  immediately thinks of Fundamental Rights guaranteed to him but rarely ever thinks of Fundamental duties binding him. Rights and responsibilities are two sides of a coin and one can not exist without the other.

 

As I have been working the area of welfare of Senior Citizens for the past decade or so (post retirement activity), I shall discuss fundamental duties of all citizens from older persons' point of view.  The first duty asks us to respect the National Flag and National Anthem. When the National Anthem is sung, some people, even senior citizens, walk away or busy themselves with trivial things like talking on mobile. They are supposed to set an example to youngsters but do just the opposite. Event organizers should ensure strict compliance of this duty, especially as this is enforceable by law. This is the simplest of all the duties specified in our constitution.

 

The second duty viz "to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle" is fittest to be enforced upon senior citizens. They are closely connected with the last generation that sacrificed a lot to get us independence and freedom. If present day seniors do not understand or appreciate this, how can we expect youngsters who are far removed in time to understand?

 

"To defend the country when called upon to do so" is another fundamental duty. Senior citizens may not be of much help in a physical sense. However, fighting an enemy requires brain power and experience as well. Whatever contribution one can offer including encouraging youngsters to be enthusiastic and patriotic is well within the capabilities.

 

"To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women" is the fourth duty. Having seen life and strife, seniors are best suitable to renounce bigotry, petty feelings and narrow mindedness.  Besides shedding feelings of partiality based on religion, caste, language, region of origin etc, older people should dissuade youngsters from being narrow.

 

"To safeguard public property and abjure violence" is the next one. We find strikes and bundhs everyday, where a common accompaniment is the loss of public property like buses and buildings. Elders can do their fundamental duty by bringing culprits to book, offer to be witnesses etc. In initial stages suitable advice to younger adults to calm down and see sense, might work. Keeping aloof thinking "this is not my concern" is wrong.

 

 "To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual" is the final diktat. Here comes the ideas of life long learning, University Third Age, Distance education, productive ageing etc. No age is too old to learn.  No age is too old to contribute to society. If elders can be active through out and contribute their mite to society by way of voluntary service, work, suggestions, advice etc our country will certainly progress much faster.

*****

The above article written by me was sent to the organisers in connection with the award of UNV Karmaveer Puraskar - Karmaveer Chakra award given in November 2011 to me.

Dr P Vyasamoorthy, 30 Gruhalakshmi Colony Secunderabad 500015 Ph 040-27846631 / 9490804278.My blog: http://vyasa-kaaranam-ketkadey.blogspot.com/
I have started a third blog:  http://seniorcitizensdiscounts.blogspot.com/ 

Maintenance of Parents - Sec 125 of CrPC

Judgments under Sec 125 of CrPC
==========================
Judgments – Section 125 CrPC – Maintenance of Parents
Section 125 (1) (d) of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is a provision
in Indian Law whereby a Magistrate can order children to make a
payment of monthly allowance as maintenance to their Parents (father
or mother).
Relevant extracts from a few Judgments of Supreme Court and various
High Courts of India are enumerated below, wherein Courts have
pronounced following major decisions :• Father or mother must be
unable to maintain himself or herself• Fulfilment of parental
obligation is not a pre-condition to claim maintenance• Daughter is
liable to pay maintenance to parents• Adoptive mother can claim
maintenance• Step-mother can claim maintenance• Application for
maintenance to be filed where the son / daughter lives

The amount is limited Rs 500 per month maximum.

I can give details of salient features of such judgments to anyone interested.

Extract from an article - sent by Vyasamoorthy
======================================

146 senior citizens killed in Maharashtra in three years

146 senior citizens killed in Maharashtra in three yearsPratishtha
Ingale, TNN | Dec 23, 2011, 01.02AM IST

NAGPUR: Home minister RR Patil on Thursday informed that 146 senior
citizens were killed in the state during 2009 to 2011. Of these four
cases happened in Mumbai in September this year alone. He provided
these figures while replying to a query by Arun Gujarathi, Usha Darade
and others in legislative council on Thursday.
In the last six months, eight senior citizens were killed and an
amount of Rs 8.86 lakh was stolen from them but Rs 8.24 lakh of it was
recovered after investigation. The minister said, "the accused in 91
cases were arrested. It is observed that close relatives and in some
cases servants were the culprits in most cases. The most common
intention behind the murders was disputes on property or loans,
differences within family, and under influence of liquor."
According to him, every police station had compiled a separate
register of senior citizens residing in its jurisdiction. The details
of servants working for the senior citizens were also collected. A
toll free helpline was started for the safety of senior citizens. The
helpline number for Mumbai was 103 and people from rest of Maharashtra
could dial 1029. In response to the call made to these numbers,
immediate help would be provided. Also, a special Tanta-Mukta police
station was started in Aurangabad, Patil said.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/146-senior-citizens-killed-in-Maharashtra-in-three-years/articleshow/11212026.cms

========

Book Review - Aisccon Guide on Elder Care Homes

Prof PV Ramamurti and Dr P Vyasamoorthy: AISCCON Guide on Elder Care
Homes. Published by All India Senior Citizens Confederation, Mumbai.
November 2011. Pages (A5) 86.

This book is two parts. The first part, the Guide on Elder Care Homes
is based on papers submitted by members of AISCCON National Committee
on Elder Care Homes. This part is mainly targeted towards managers and
owners of Elder Care Homes. Minimum Standards for services, facilities
and infrastructure are stipulated for a) free homes run on charity
basis and b) Pay & Stay type intended for middle and upper middle
class elderly persons. Thereafter, provision of healthcare facilities,
Food and Nutritional aspects, and Activities / Entertainment are
covered in three later chapters.

Apart from general aspects of managing Elders homes, there is a
separate chapter on Financial management. As a logical next step,
details relating to Monitoring and Inspection of Old Age Homes are
given next. Rounding off this group are two articles one on: A summary
of Research Studies on Old Age Homes in India and a brief note of the
scenario in UK USA and Canada.

Appendices, forming the second part, are a collection of important and
useful extracts from various governmental sources that serve as
reference.  Architects, planners and real estate persons interested in
providing shelter to senior citizens will benefit from Guidelines on
Space standards for the elderly, Universal design tips and barrier
free access guidelines.  The AP State Rules relating to old age homes
– (still in draft stage as of Nov 2011)- under Maintenance and Welfare
of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 would be useful as a model /
template for other states. These rules will indeed be directly useful
to owners / managers of old age homes.

There are a few a few page formatting errors in second part of the
book. Absence of info on copyright, availability, and details of
AISCCON - the publisher as such are points to be noted if a second
edition is taken up. The book is very useful to all connected with
setting up and running old age homes. Even residents of old age homes
may benefit by learning what they should look for in searching /
selecting old age homes.

Prof P.V.Ramamurti, PhD(Ageing), FNA, Honorary Director(Emeritus),
Center for Research on Ageing, Dept. of Psychology, S V University,
super annuated as Dean of school of social behavior sciences, in 1996.
He was a Fulbright fellow (1983), Andrus Gerontology Center, L A USA.
His Intl and National awards include Sandoz Intl award, Age Care
award, AGI lifetime achievement award,  Pranavananda Research
Award(lifetime), Basu Medal ( API), SCB award for excellence, ISCA
Platinum jubilee award . He is a scholar and teacher of international
repute.

Dr P Vyasamoorthy, co-author, has about ten years of post retirement
experience as a social gerontologist and social activist. He is a
prolific writer. He is a recipient of AP State govt award in 2007 for
his services to senior citizens and a winner of UNV Karmaveer Puraskar
Award in 2011.
==================================================
Available at Rs 30 plus postage, from: AISCCON, Jyestha Nagrik Bhavan,
Plot No 7-C Behind Gaondevi Mandir, Sector 12, Nerul(West), Navi
Mumbai 400706 (Phone: 022-27701228)

Free Medical and Legal Consultation for Senior Citizens - Hyderabad

Free Medical and Legal Consultation for Senior Citizens

The Association of Senior Citizens, Lions Bhavan, Paradise Circle,behind HDFC Bank have inaugurated a Special Service to Senior Citizens irrespective they are members or not, since 13 Dec 2011.This is open for all senior Citizens free of cost..On the inauguration day 26 members availed the facility. The consultations had to be extended by another hour due to heavy demand as a special gesture by the Doctors.Dr. Mukesh conducted the medical check up, his assistant Doctor carried out Blood Sugar Test and Blood Presure test.

This facility is on every second Tuesday of the month between 3 and 4 pm at Lions Bhavan 2 nd floor. Dr. D Sree Mukesh M D (Gen).D Dia of Vivekananda Hospital Begumpet will visit the premises and check up the medical health of patients and prescribe drugs all free of cost. Blood Pressure and Blood sugar level is also checked up. A token sum of Rs 20 is collected for consumables for blood test.Vivekananda Hospital has kindly agreed to give a discount of 20 percent to members of this association for specialists consultations.The discount is also applicable for diagnostic tests . The in patients are also eligible for the discounts on their bill except on the consumables.

Another facility to be started from 27 Dec 2011 is free legal advice by a practicing High Court Advocate Mr Manoj He will render legal advice for all senior citizens irrespective of members or not. He shall also deal with Alternate Therapy.This facility is also free for all Senior Citizens

This programme will continue every month. In January 2012 it will be on 10 th and 24 Jan 2011 respectively

These facilities may please be availed by all Senior Citizens and be given wide publicity.

As the period of one hour is a short period number of patients will be around 15 to 20 to be given facility. It is requested to get their names registered  in advance. The registration start a week in advance. 

Khanapur Krishna Rao B.Sc.,B.E. IDSE (retd)

Secretary, The Association of Senior Citizens, Hyderabad

Tele 9392431974       Landline 040-27752546

==============

A Note on SSS-Global Meeting on 4th December 2011

A Note on SSS-Global Meeting on 4^th December 2011

Registration

Last year it was decided to hold sss-global annual meeting on the first Sunday of December every year.

Accordingly some 45 members met at Sweekar Hall to celebrate the annual day of the SSS global on 4t December 2011. The face to face interaction was wonderful. The registration started at 10 am followed by light breakfast. During the registration participants were given a copy of latest issue of Tarnaka News, Harmony magazine and DVD on Isha Kriya – all free of cost. The program started at 11am sharp.

Speeches

Mrs Kamakshi, the Master of Ceremonies, greeted and welcomed all the guests. An invocation song on Lord Narayana was melodiously rendered by Ms Shanti Shivram. It augured well .

Dr P Vyasamoorthy thereafter welcomed the members and gave a brief report on the SSS Global. How it was the brainchild Mr Sivraram and very well supported by others like Justice Rangarajan, Mr VK Narasiman, Rajendra Rao, IVLN Chary and others. Today it is 5^th among some 700 such groups meant for senior citizens. He went on to describe how several people are regular contributors on various topics of interest for the seniors.  Benefits to members were described. Justice Rangarajan also added his views about the group and how quality information can be shared.

Mr RN Mital also congratulated the efforts of the founder members and threw light on the problems facing the seniors and invited an open discussion about how the implementation of the laws and welfare schemes for elders should be taken up. Dr Vasunder Reddy too gave his positive views about SSS and how regardless of the time of the day he reads the mail and the articles.

Felicitation

The icing on the cake was the announcement of the award given to Dr P Vyasamoorthy. 

ICONGO, VSO and Silver Innings Foundation have jointly initiated an award for Exceptional work for Senior citizens. This is their first year. Dr P Vyasamoorthy was selected for the Award called Karmaveer Puraskar UNV Karmaveer Chakra. This was presented in Delhi on 27^th November 2011. Members of SSS-Global are very proud of this award and facilitated him by a Shawl at the hands of Sri RN Mital.

Narration of Anecdotes

After all the business hour, we moved over to something light and entertaining. T o encourage greater participation from the audience a game was conducted . The members were required to come and narrate a humorous or an embarrassing moment in their lives. Mr Mital. Dr Vyasamoorthy and Dr Vasunder Reddy were the judges. It had a n overwhelming response. Each incident was more hilarious than the other. Justice Rangarajan, Ms Mohini Moghe and Ms Sobha Perindevi were adjudged as best of the top three narrators and were given prizes. There wasn’t any who didn’t enjoy this part.

Fun and Entertainment

Kamaskshi organised a novel game of locating people with maximum number of buttons on their shirt, Most colorful flowers worn by a lady, maximum denominations of money with a person, One with a checked hanky and so on. So prizes were just distributed., like Santa Claus with his bag of goodies. People enjoyed it thoroughly. This was followed by a round of Tombola. All in all more than 22 prizes were distributed and was well appreciated. Thereafter, talented seniors sang, recited poems. Mr Bagade, Dr VBGK Moorthy, Dr Sashikala, Smt Chandrakala, Mr Sivaram sang melodious numbers and engaged the audience. M r Cheenu spoke and expressed his happiness of belonging to this group.

Olla Podrida

The vishakapatnam unit of SSS sent an SMS wishing us a great meet. Mrs Cheenu and Krishna Rao took photos. Through the efforts of Sri Sivaram, Karur Vysya Bank donated a sum of Rs 1500 and this was highly appreciated. Dr Vyasamoorthy expressed his gratitude for honoring him and thanked all participants for attending the meeting with a special mention of  Ms Jayanti, Ms Kamakshi and Mr Sivaram for tirelessly working and making this event a great success.  Ms Jayanthi Menon gave the vote of thanks. The program ended with a sumptuous Lunch.

===

  

Why is the Jan Aushadhi Scheme an utter failure?

How it all began?

Union minister Sri Ram Vilas Paswan launched Jan Aushadhi Scheme in April 2008 with great fanfare. The objective was to make generic drugs available to poor at substantially lower prices than branded drugs which are almost unaffordable. Shops were opened in big hospital complexes, supply of drugs arranged from big manufacturers. The intention was to set up one Jan Aushadhi shop in each district head quarters. The table given below compares prices of branded drugs and generic ones of a few typical drugs:

Where are we now?

So far, 113 Jan Aushadhi Stores have been opened in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, NCT of Delhi & UT of Chandigarh. Sri Srikant Kumar Jena, Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers laments: “Since opening up of Jan Aushadhi Stores mainly depends upon the health policies followed by State Government, besides the support and cooperation they extend to open such stores, in the identification of agencies to manage such stores, allotment of space etc., it is difficult to prescribe any timeline for launching stores in the remaining States.”. The official website for Janaushadhi scheme http://janaushadhi.gov.in gives prices of some 320 essential medicines in generic form available in these shops. In reality, almost all shops set up so far, display empty shelves. In NIMS, Hyderabad the Jan Aushadhi shop always says No Stock, while a next door chemist has a roaring daily turn over of more than 4 lakhs!

Problems and issues:

All kinds of problems have cropped up: Shops have no stocks as already indicated. Doctors refuse to prescribe generics though they have been directed to do so, especially in the case of govt hospitals. IMA has advised that doctors need to prescribe generics only if so requested by patients or write out equivalents as a substitute. Hand in glove with manufacturers, doctors take their commission / cut and leave poor patients to be exploited, by prescribing only branded products. Competitors in trade threaten generic only shops to close down through unfair means. 

Supply chain from manufacturer to retailers is mismanaged; moreover the suppliers hitherto have only been large scale public sector companies who are so big that the requirements of a few Generic shops is peanuts for them and are not interested in doing business coming through Jan Aushadhi chain. Now Govt has started looking into Middle level players too.  Most importantly there is no awareness among public and doctors – Most doctors do not know what / how to prescribe generics! Many Doctors also harbor wrong belief that low priced medicines are useless, forgetting that the drugs are produced by reputed manufacturers  in the same factory adopting same methods and controls applicable both for branded ones as well for generic ones!. Another reason is that Health is in concurrent list – so many State governments have to co-operate for any scheme to be successful.

Andhra Pradesh holds out hope!

In the case of Andhra Pradesh, AP Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APMSIDC) is keenly interested in making availability of generics a reality. They plan to set up more than 175 generic shops under the brand “Jeevanadhara” through out the state. Reputed NGOs like Red Cross, Andhra Pradesh Senior Citizens Confederation (APSCCON) have been approached to implement the scheme. Govt would provide space, support for procuring drugs, publicity for shops opened under this plan. As there appears to be some political will to make it a success, there is every hope that Jeevanadhara would succeed. Let us wait and see.

================

IRDA - No exit age for health insurance

Please read  the part in block letters. Is this just an advice or a mandate? Is this a victory for us?

==============================================
Insurance for Senior CitizensDecember 02, 2011 The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the regulator in the insurance sector had constituted a Senior Citizens Committee in 2007. Based on the recommendations of the Committee, the IRDA had instructed insurers in April, 2007 to allow entry in health insurance policy at least till 65 years of age. In August 2008, IRDA mandated establishment of a separate channel to address health insurance related grievances of senior citizens. Further, vide instructions issued in March, 2009, IRDA instructed that apart from the entry age of 65 years, the denial of health insurance to senior citizens on any grounds should be in writing with reasons furnished and recorded and the premium charged to senior citizens should be fair, justified and transparent and duly disclosed upfront. As the most recent initiative, Insurers to ensure that there is no exit age in the policy which ensures IRDA, while approving health insurance products, advises all general ithat no one is denied health insurance merely on grounds of age. 
This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to an Unstarred Question in Lok Sabha today. 
DSM/ Hb (Release ID :78114)

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=78114

=======Dr P Vyasamoorthy, 30 Gruhalakshmi Colony Secunderabad 500015 Ph 040-27846631 / 9490804278.My blog: http://vyasa-kaaranam-ketkadey.blogspot.com/

Have you signed up for sss-global 4th December meeting? Sweekaar Upkaar 4/12/2011 10.00 am

Senior citizens taking classes at the University of Arkansas won't have to pay tuition

Senior citizens taking classes at the University of Arkansas won't
have to pay tuitionTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS  First Posted: November 30,
2011 - 5:11 amLast Updated: November 30, 2011 - 5:11 amFAYETTEVILLE,
Ark. — The University of Arkansas is giving a major break to people 60
years and older who want to go to college.

Officials announced Tuesday that residents in that age group can
enroll in credit courses at the school tuition free on a
space-available basis.
Crawford says some older students seek classes to complete a degree,
while others take courses that interest them.
Officials say college courses engage older learners in challenging and
intellectually stimulating programs.
Julie Crawford is the coordinator of senior citizen admissions for the
University of Arkansas. Crawford says some older students seek classes
to complete a degree, while others take courses that interest them.
Those wanting to return to the classroom must apply to the university
to ensure admission before the Jan. 13 registration period.
====Dr P Vyasamoorthy, 30 Gruhalakshmi Colony Secunderabad 500015 Ph
040-27846631 / 9490804278.My blog:
http://vyasa-kaaranam-ketkadey.blogspot.com/

Have you signed up for sss-global 4th December meeting? Sweekaar
Upkaar 4/12/2011 10.00 am