Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, May 5: Elderly citizens in the twin cities have two jobs at hand - act as agents of change for a clean city and be vigilant about banking matters.

If the first job is for senior citizens of Bhubaneswar, the banking advice is for their Cuttack counterparts.

Reaching out to the elderly population at an interactive session, Bhubaneswar mayor Ananta Narayan Jena today urged them to apprise the city health officer about the ward-wise cleanliness report card as the civic body was spending more than Rs 40 crore a year in collecting, lifting and transporting municipal solid wastes.

Jena urged senior citizens' forums to carryout the social audit of the cleanliness programmes..

Using the opportunity, member of Nayapalli's Behera Sahi Senior Citizens' Forum K.P. Panda said: "No private cleaning organisation is spraying bleaching powder at the spot after lifting garbage." Responding to Panda, the mayor said: "Ward officers, sanitary inspectors and malaria control employees are engaged to ensure a better city under the Swachha Bhubaneswar Campaign."

At a public meeting held in Cuttack today, police commissioner R.P. Sharma and bank officials warned elders not to respond to unsolicited telephone calls or divulge bank details in view of online frauds.

Sharma said: "Senior citizens can take small steps to strengthen their security."

Efforts are on to have senior citizen cells at all police stations in the twin cities.

The senior citizens also expressed concern over the rising health care issues, lack of old-age homes and delay in issuance of senior citizen identity cards during the interface meeting. They urged the police commissioner to make special provision for them during Nabakalebar in Puri for a hassle-free darshan of the deities. Reacting to health care concerns of the elderly, health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said: "The state government will shortly extend the geriatric ward facility in each district headquarters hospitals, apart from the three government hospitals, in the state."

The health minister said the government had included 573 essential drugs to be available under the Nirmaya scheme, and steps were being taken to include cancer and other costlier drugs under its purview.

"We are planning to give stress on immediate treatment of the senior citizens, so that they do not have to face any harassment in seeking medical attention at district headquarters hospitals or government hospitals," Nayak said.