Troubled by promoters? Abused by your children? Harassed by neighbours? Help will now be at your fingertips.
HelpAge India - a leading national nonprofit that envisions a society where the elderly have the right to an active, healthy and dignified life - will launch its special mobile application for senior citizens in Jharkhand on Tuesday. IG (operations) M.S. Bhatia will do the honours at Ranchi Club and thereafter, anyone can download HelpAge SOS on their Android phone to report abuse.
Subhankar Chakraborty, the in-charge of Jharkhand chapter of HelpAge India, said the mobile interface was a potent tool for seniors in distress and was being launched across the country.
Chakraborty explained how the app would function. "It is a one-touch SOS application that will work on any Android phone for now and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. One will have to touch the 'critical elder issues' tab on the home page and just dial the helpline at the bottom of the 'elder abuse' page. The message will reach our national helpline. Officials in respective cities will get in touch with the user without delay," he said.
HelpAge India officials will not just rush to rescue, but will also facilitate counselling, police protection, medical and legal help or stay at old-age homes, if necessary.
According to Chakraborty, abuse of the elderly is very common in India, but less reported owing to lack of communication means. HelpAge India wishes to bridge the gap because most senior citizens find it heartrending to complain to police against their tormentors, who are often their own children or close relatives.
"In Jharkhand, harassment cases are mostly related to property dispute. Daughters-in-law are the key accused in most cases, followed by sons or daughters. Nationally too, this is a common trend. A nationwide survey by us in 2014 suggested that over 50 per cent of elderly people have reported experiencing abuse out of which 48 per cent were men. The report also cited that in 2014, the rate of abuse had gone up by 23 per cent compared to previous years," he said.
"Our app will deal with every critical problem - from abuse and legal rights to pending entitlements from the government, healthcare needs including insurance, availability of affordable medicines and discounts at hospitals, pathological labs. In short, it will safeguard rights and dignity of senior citizens, besides stemming domestic abuse and violence," Chakraborty said.
He added that they planned to make the app compatible for iOS phones soon and offer more language interface other than English.
Share your experience of using the Android-based app with us at ttkhand@abpmail.com
