Jamshedpur, Oct. 26: East Singhbhum will become the first district in the state to give its senior citizens and disabled a concession while travelling in private long-distance or short-distance buses.

The elderly and the disabled in the district would get a concession while travelling in city buses or long-distance buses, thanks to the efforts of the district administration.

Deputy commissioner Nitin Madan Kulkarni and the owner?s association of both long-distance and short-distance mini buses have agreed to extend a concession of 25 and 50 per cent, respectively, for people above the age of 60 and for the disabled as well.

Kulkarni has called a meeting of both the associations today.

?It will be mandatory for senior citizens and disabled persons to produce certificates and cards issued by the district administration to avail the benefit,? announced the deputy commissioner.

Dignity Foundation, a non-government organisation working for the cause of elderly, in association with the state social security department, has been issuing senior-citizen cards to residents in the city aged more than 60.

The cards were recently introduced in the district. Jharkhand happens to be the second state in the country where this facility is available.

Earlier, the scheme was implemented in Maharashtra.