**Bhubaneswar: ** Gracing the Foundation Day celebration of the Federation of Senior Citizens Association of Odisha at Rabindra Mandap today, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that no society can improve or move ahead ignoring the senior citizens.
Conveying his warm greetings to all the senior citizens on this happy occasion, the Odisha Chief Minister said, “Senior citizens are like the trees of wisdom in our society. Their wisdom does not come from any book or scripture; it comes from their deep understanding of life. No society can grow or move forward by ignoring its senior citizens.”
He added, “They are the source of immense knowledge and experience that can guide the younger generation to handle the situations better. We must appreciate their wisdom and value their contribution to society.”
“My Government has always been sensitive to the needs of senior citizens of our State. We are providing monthly pension to more than 27 Lakh senior citizens under different schemes,” stated the Chief Minister.
Elucidating on the schemes, he said, “In 2016, the State Government had put in place Odisha Senior Citizens Policy. The Policy envisages a number of welfare provisions for our senior citizens. We are setting up 200 bedded Old Age Homes in all districts in a phased manner. We are also setting up Geriatric Care Wards and Counselling Centres at all district level hospitals.”
He added, “Giving utmost priority to the security of senior citizens, we have opened Senior Citizen Security Cells in all Police Stations. Besides, State Awards are being conferred upon individuals and institutions for making outstanding achievements in different fields especially in geriatric care.”
He also stated, “Apart from socio-economic and healthcare needs, senior citizens do also have religious needs. Keeping this in mind, my Government has been running Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana since 2016.Thousands of Senior Citizens have availed the facility under this popular scheme to visit several religious places across the country.”
“I thank the Federation of Senior Citizens for their endeavour to unite and lead a healthy social life, and for making constructive contribution to the society. I wish all of you a healthy and happy life,” mentioned the Odisha Chief Minister.
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