THE POLICE'S elders' helpline is getting the publicity it needs.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Anti-Terrorist Squad) Hemant Karkare distributed registration forms to 300 senior citizens on Sunday, to register with the helpline.

The police's urgency comes in wake of the murder of 70-year-old Niru Bhatt in her Juhu bungalow on May 4, allegedly by her former domestic helps.

Karkare participated in the senior citizens' meet in Matunga, along with Municipal Commissioner Jairaj Phatak and Kumar Ketkar, editor of Marathi daily Loksatta. The forum, Federation for Senior Citizens Organisation of Maharashtra (FESCOM), held its state-level meet in the city for the first time. The forum, which has 1,200 branches in the state, acted as a platform for seniors to express their grievances to state officials.

"We will ensure that they all are registered with the helpline and help reaches them when they need it," said Karkare. He also gave them tips, like getting domestic helps registered with the nearest police chowky and not opening doors to strangers, to improve security in their areas. A pamphlet with important phone numbers was also distributed.

Karkare said most of the calls made to the helpline were from seniors calling in to talk about household and personal problems.

Widening the discussion, Phatak spoke about the importance of good eating habits to stay healthy and social security funds for the elderly on lines of western countries.

The seniors also discussed issues like lack of places to hold programmes, and demanded a 50 per cent reduction in Asiad bus tickets. "Through this forum we come together and try to solve the problems of our members," said Vijay Aundhe, secretary of FESCOM.

URL: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=12_05_2008_006_011&typ=0&pub=264