CHENNAI: Even as the city learns to live with the pandemic, a few senior citizens have been left in a lurch.
Volunteers, who were helping the elderly with daily chores during the early months of lockdown, have now moved on to their previous jobs, leaving them in a limbo.
“We faced a lot of hardship initially,” says 71-year-old V Ramachandran, living in Alwarpet. “Domestic help were not available. Eateries were closed. It was difficult. But, a few youngsters in the area along with the volunteers from NGOs came to our rescue.” That has stopped since the city returned to normalcy, he says.
“There is nobody to help us now. Being in the high-risk group, we are worried.”
Not just social organisations and local groups, even domestic helps are refusing to work.
“Domestic helps employed with the senior citizens are refusing to come. For some reason they feel it’s riskier to work at our homes during Covid. Each time I am forced to step out, I get very anxious,” says P Sitharaman, a resident of Besant Nagar.
Most of the senior citizens are now dependant on their relatives and extended families for help.
“Our major concerns are food supplies and medicines. Medicines we can stock for a couple of months, but there is no one to help us with vegetables or groceries. The pandemic had its impact on everyone, but we are among the worst hit,” said, 69-year-old, S Kamakshi.