Bhubaneswar: The state government will launch a dedicated toll-free helpline number soon to provide handholding support to the senior citizens.
The Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) department is setting up the necessary infrastructure and technical support to launch the helpline which will work round the clock. The helpline number is likely to be 14567, sources said. The senior citizens will able to get all sorts of information on old age homes, schemes and services provided by the government for them in Odia language. A dedicated call centre is being set up at State Institute of Rural Development campus in Capital Hospital for this purpose, said SSEPD secretary Bhaskar Sarma here Thursday.
Support under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act will also be provided to the elderly persons, he said. The call centre will work as a connect centre and will provide interventions through field staff of concern government agencies.
Sources said there has been a steady rise in the population of the elderly in Odisha. The number of elderly persons has increased from 22.81 lakh in 1991 to 30.39 lakh in 2001 and 39.8 lakh in 2011. The number is likely to rise to 62.69 lakh in 2026.
