Lawmakers demand old-age home in each province

File Photo of elderly people

Kathmandu / December 13: Parliamentarians at a meeting of the Women, Children and Social Welfare Committee of the Legislature-Parliament have noted the need of establishing old-age home in each province to ensure the senior citizens’ right to survival besides security and respect.

The lawmakers insisted the setting up of one old-age home for senior citizen in each province since growing outbound of their off-springs to foreign countries lately has left them in lurch with no one to take care at home despite having property.

In the committee meeting held at Singha Durbar Sunday, lawmakers including Shree Maya Thakali and Laxman Rajbanshi lodged complaint for no arrangement in place to support the livelihood of the senior citizens though the constitution has enshrined provisions for the protection of and respect to senior citizens.

The lawmakers said that the existing practice of providing state-sponsored senior citizen allowance to people only above 75 years old is against the law which defined people above 60 as a senior citizen.

Committee Chairperson Ranju Jha presided over the meeting. Many elderly people have been living very poor life after they were abandoned by their family members during their old age as social security is lacking in Nepal. Many people have been spending their life begging in the street during their old age due to lack of proper old-age home and family member’s reluctance towards taking care of them. RSS