A HelpAge India survey across 19 different cities, including Patna, has revealed that 44 per cent of elderly people, nearly one out of two, are subjected to abuse at public spaces some time or the other.

In Patna, a single NGO runs a private old-age home at Vednagar (Rukanpura) on Bailey Road from a rented accommodation.

In 2015, HelpAge India and the Bihar Human Rights Commission had conducted a survey in 10 districts - Purnea, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Chhapra, Hajipur, Patna, Gaya and Bhagalpur.

HelpAge India's 2011 survey had listed Patna at the top in terms of physical abuse of elders in the country. The survey had been conducted in nine cities - Patna, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Calcutta, Bhopal, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

This year's survey reported that in metro cities, daughters-in-law were the main perpetrators of abuse at home while sons are found to be the main abuser in Tier-II cities according to the study thatinterviewed 4,615 people.

When the reason behind the ill-treatment was probed, it turned out to be an intention to usurp property, ill-health of the elderly and perception of the elderly as a burden on family finances.

HelpAge India state president Girish Chandra Mishra said: "Such incidents leave a deep emotional and psychological scar on senior citizens." He emphasised that old-age homes, where proper medical and emotional support could be provided to them, were slowly becoming a necessity.

Girish said: "The elderly are oblivious of organisations working to ameliorate their sufferings and those who know about it do not raise awareness. Most feel that complaining only results in more harassment."

Patna has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of such cases, according to the recent survey. "We get over 20 calls every day from elderly citizens seeking help. Most of them enquire about old-age homes. There is no place to safely house the rescued elderly," said Girish. The state has around 10 million of elderly population.

Though the state government has enacted the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, which states that neglecting old parents is criminal negligence and a punishable offence, the government's old-age homes are run with help of NGOs in rented accommodations in five districts only - Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Purnea and Muzaffarpur.