Lt Governor launches Senior Citizens National Helpline in JK

Jammu, Sep 17: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Friday launched the Senior Citizens National Helpline ”Elderline”-14567 in J&K, at Raj Bhavan here.
On the occasion, the Lt Governor also distributed motorized tricycles, prosthetic and other aids worth Rs 3.25 crore to divyangs from across the UT.
The Lt Governor observed that ElderLine will serve as a vital support system to comfort the distressed elderly through a dedicated Decentralized Call Center, extending emotional care and support, health services, and other aids to needy senior citizens. This toll-free helpline will fill a crucial gap in the institutionalized Eldercare Ecosystem in UT, he added.
It was also informed that the J&K Maintenance and Welfare for Parents and Senior Citizens rules 2021 have been prepared and will be notified in a few days.
The Lt Governor lauded the efforts of Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) for providing assistance to divyangs of the UT and making it specially-abled inclusive and accessible.
The Social Welfare Department shall be holding Panchayat level assessment camps in association with ALIMCO to identify all those in need of any kind of prosthetic aid and the J&K government shall ensure that all eligible persons are provided with requisite prosthetic and other aids within this year.
The Lt Governor further said that the J&K Social Welfare Department has conducted a survey of those in need of motorized tricycles and all those who are eligible for Old age, Widow, and Divyang pensions. The UT government shall be attaining saturation in the distribution of these benefits within this year.
He said about 9 lakh people have received funds under different pension schemes. Another, 2 lakh 72 thousand additional people have been added to our pension schemes, and for the first time in the history of UT, pensions have been provided to transgenders.
He noted that in line with the vision of Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi calling for ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’, the UT government is determined to ensure welfare of all sections of the society.
“We are moving towards 100% saturation of all 55 public welfare schemes of the Central government so that the benefits reach out to the last needy person in the society”, the Lt Governor asserted.
He said that the J&K government has ensured provision for reservation in jobs for specially-abled persons in the UT. Further, the Social Welfare Department has given reservation benefits to the needy at different levels and now 10% reservation in government jobs has been extended to the people living below the poverty line.
In wake of COVID pandemic, SASCM/Saksham scheme has been started by the UT government to provide financial help to the families who have suffered due to Corona. Under this, the families who have lost their breadwinners will be given a monthly pension of Rs. 1000 and special scholarship has been arranged for the children who have become orphaned due to Covid, besides extending benefits of other social welfare schemes to them, the Lt Governor added.
The Social Welfare Department has constituted a special cell which will work properly for their help throughout their life, he added.
Those present on the occasion included Farooq Khan, Advisor to Lt Governor; Dr. AK Mehta, Chief Secretary; Sheetal Nanda, Secretary Social Welfare Department; Dr. Raghav Langer, Divisional Commissioner Jammu; Anshul Garg, Deputy Commissioner Jammu; Vivek Sharma, Director Social Welfare, besides senior officials of Social Welfare department.