GUNTUR: Cases of people abandoning their elderly parents have significantly risen in Guntur since 2015. While the authorities received 1,000 such complaints in 2015, the figure doubled in 2016, according to the available data. In 2017, the data showed that almost 3,000 elders reported abandonment by their children. In the first seven months of 2018, 180 similar complaints were received by the Guntur police.
The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 says that children and heirs are legally obliged to provide maintenance to senior citizens and parents by monthly allowance. The act also provides speedy and inexpensive mechanism for the protection of life and property of the older persons.
As such, the Guntur Urban Police is taking measures to ensure that elders in the city are not deprived of their rights and are not subjected to any form of harassment or abuse.
As cases of elder abuse and parents being abandoned by their children is on the rise, the system needs speedy remedial measures to make sure that no one is deprived of their rights, advocate Narra Srinavasa Rao rues. “Parents generally do not raise their voices if they face harassments or neglect from their wards. A very few cases are being reported. Though the revenue department, in coordination with the police, helps in disposal of such cases within a month, the administration should give more focus to the issue.”
T Ramakotamma, from old Guntur, is one such neglected parent.
She says she is being ignored by her three children and all she gets in the form of pension is `1,000.
The parent adds she only recently discovered that the police helps people like her and, as such, has approached them seeking help.
Meanwhile, Urban SP Ch Vijaya Rao has warned that stern actions will be taken against people if they neglect their elderly parents.