Senior citizen liaison officers help the elderly in need in Coimbatore

When Satyanarayanan, a senior citizen from Selvapuram in Coimbatore, contacted his LPG provider and requested to replace a leaking gas regulator, a service person from the LPG agency visited the house and disconnected regulator. He asked Mr. Satyanarayanan to visit the agency’s office the next day to get a new regulator.

Aged 82, Mr. Satyanarayanan and his wife were in need of the regulator on the same day to cook their food. He contacted his son, who is residing in Bengaluru and narrated the incident. The son in turn informed the matter to Special sub-inspector A. Babu of Selvapuram police station.

The policeman immediately contacted the LPG agency and visited Mr. Satyanarayanan’s residence along with a service person, who installed a new gas regulator.

Mr. Babu is one of the 24 personnel of the Coimbatore City Police, who have been working as senior citizen liaison officers.

An initiative by City Police Commissioner V. Balakrishnan, these officers are in touch with senior citizens living within the jurisdiction of their police stations and respond swiftly when their service is sought.

According to Rohini, Inspector of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, who is in-charge of the senior citizen liaison programme, a total of 938 senior citizens, mostly aged 65 and above, have submitted their details with the respective police stations. Out of them, 616 have downloaded Tamil Nadu Police’s Kavalan – SOS app.

Besides rendering various assistance to the senior citizens whose details are available with the police, the officers also help mentally-challenged persons found on the streets, mediate family disputes, support destitute people and provide other legal assistance.

Published - October 02, 2024 07:49 pm IST