The V.D. Satheesan-led Kerala government on Monday created a dedicated department for the elderly, which, according to the chief minister, is the “first of its kind” in the country.
Shortly after the oath-taking ceremony at the Lok Bhavan, the new cabinet chaired by Satheesan held its first meeting at the state secretariat and decided to implement two of the five Indira Guarantee schemes announced in the election manifesto.
This includes free travel for women on KSRTC buses from June 15 and the creation of a dedicated department for the elderly.
Kerala has become the ninth state in the country after Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Bengal to provide free bus rides to women.
Fulfilling a major promise made during the prolonged agitation by Asha workers in front of the secretariat during Left rule, the UDF cabinet also approved an increase in their honorarium to ₹12,000 from ₹9,000.
Kerala leads the country with the highest proportion of elderly population and life expectancy exceeding 75 years.
Drawing on Japan’s approach to elderly care, Satheesan said a detailed study of the model would be completed within two months. He did not say under which ministry the new department for the elderly would operate.
“Ageing is a big problem in Kerala. A society is judged by how it treats its elderly. Kerala will soon become a model state in caring for senior citizens,” Satheesan said.
Asha workers have decided to hold a victory march in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. A jubilant M.A. Bindu, general secretary of the Kerala Asha Health Workers’ Association (KAHWA), told The Telegraph that they were happy with the
decision taken by the new government immediately after taking office.
“We could never meet former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan during our agitation. On Sunday, when we visited the chief minister-designate at his previous official residence at Cantonment House, we were accorded a warm welcome, which caught us unawares. The hike of ₹3,000 has filled us with hope for better days ahead,” Bindu said.
Satheesan also announced the formation of a special investigation team to probe the attacks on Youth Congress leaders during the Vijayan-led Nava Kerala Yatra in 2023. At least five gunmen, who were part of Vijayan’s security detail and are still serving him, had attacked several Youth Congress leaders.
A.D. Thomas, who won the election from Alappuzha, was among the Youth Congress leaders who suffered injuries and is still undergoing treatment.