BHUBANESWAR: A first-of-its-kind senior citizens’ recreation centre under the Smart City project was inaugurated at Saheed Nagar in the State Capital on Saturday. Set up at the Integrated Public Service Centre (IPSC), the centre will have indoor games and yoga facilities for health and wellness of the elderly. The centre will also have a meeting place and other amenities.
Due to the changing social dynamics of nuclear families, elderly people now-a-days are facing loneliness and boredom. However, the centre will provide quality atmosphere where the senior citizens will spend their time with friends and peer groups, interact with others, play indoor games and engage themselves in other recreational activities that play a vital role in enhancing overall wellbeing, said officials of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL).
The project has been executed as part of the Active Ageing Project under the Socially Smart Bhubaneswar, a joint initiative of BSCL and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). BSCL CEO and Municipal Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary said the city administration is also working to improve parks and create more open spaces for the senior citizens so that they can spend good time and remain happy with meaningful engagements for their mental and physical wellbeing.
On the inaugural day, a health check-up camp was organised in the centre where blood sugar level, blood pressure and weight of senior citizens were measured.
Chaudhary said the IPSC Saheed Nagar has multiple facilities such as ward office, homoeopathic dispensary and a fully functional public library with a good collection of books, periodicals and other publications that can also be accessed by the senior citizens.
BSCL officials said adequate security arrangement has been made at the centre to make the female and elderly visitors feel safe and secured. They also requested people visiting the IPSC to adhere to the Covid-19 guidelines.