THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A group of retired and serving employees of central PSU, HLL Lifecare Ltd, dreamed of leading a decent and cozy retirement life. Now they have made their dream a reality where they built 45 villas of 500 sq ft each at Vembayam having basic amenities like a bedroom with ensuite, sitting room, centralized laundry and kitchen, library, prayer room, recreation room, badminton and volleyball courts and a vegetable and fruit garden.
The first cooperative retirement home at Vembayam in Thiruvananthapuram district will be launched by Food and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil on Sunday.
When there was a dearth of assisted living homes for the elderly in Thiruvananthapuram district under the government sector, a group of retired and serving colleagues at HLL Lifecare Ltd decided to identify affordable land to develop a villa-type habitat which has been in their minds for the past one decade.
But with exorbitant prices of land, the group travelled across the length and breadth of Thiruvananthapuram district where they visited 40 - 42 plots over the last several years. Finally, they zeroed in on the 2.5 acres of land at Koppam within Kuthirakulam post office limits at Vembayam which they bought for Rs 1.5 lakh per cent.
E S Sabukuttan, deputy general manager (production), HLL Lifecare Ltd, told TNIE that he and his colleagues decided to have a small roof over their head, ‘Serene Haven,’ at a minimal cost during their post-retirement life.
“There’s no luxury here, but we are keen to lead a healthy and contented life. There are close to 40 of us who are in the age group between 55 and 60 years from the HLL family who have bought the villas where the remaining can either be rented out or purchased by like-minded people. During old age, people may not be feeling healthy enough to cook food which led us to think of having a centralised kitchen. So the residents here can ask for any type of food and the cooks will prepare dishes according to their taste,” said Sabukuttan.
Kusuma Priyadarshani, a retired employee of All India Radio, is one of the residents who have bought a villa there for around Rs 30 lakh. She said that it was one of the wisest decisions she and her husband O P Viswanathan, a retired official of HLL Lifecare Ltd, have ever taken in their lives.