National Institute of Social Defence, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India in collaboration with J&K State Legal Services Authority and Anugraha Regional Resource & Training Center on Ageing Delhi, today organized two day State Level Seminar on Elderly Issues, here at Police Auditorium, Gulshan Ground.The Seminar was inaugurated by Justice Gita Mittal Chief Justice of J&K High Court, Patron-in-Chief J&K State Legal Services Authority with Lamp Lighting.Justice Rajesh Bindal, Executive Chairman, J&K State Legal Services Authority, Justice Sanjeev Kumar Judge High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, Justice Sindhu Sharma Judge High Court of Jammu & Kashmir, Sanjay Dhar, Registrar General J&K High Court, Vinod Chatterji Koul, Chairman District Legal Services Authority (Pr. District & Sessions Judge) Jammu, Mohammad Akram Chowdhary, Member Secretary J&K State Legal Services Authority, Sonia Gupta Registrar Judicial J&K High Court, Jammu wing, Dr. Veerendra Mishra, Director National Institute of Social Defence, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment Govt. of India, Dr. Aabha Chaudhary, Chairperson Anugraha, Rehana Batool, Director General Social Welfare Department, Jammu and Naushad Ahmed Khan, Secretary District Legal Services Authority, Jammu graced the occasion.In her inaugural address, Justice Gita Mittal, chief Justice of J&K High Court and Patron-in-chief J&K State Legal Services Authority highlighted the sacrifices the parents or elders make in their golden days for shaping the life of their children and added that during their old days, they expect support, love and care from us. The Chief Justice congratulated the organisers for conducting first such seminar on a highly relevant subject.Justice Rajesh Bindal, Executive Chairman J&K SLSA also highlighted that getting old is natural process and caring for the elderly is not only responsibility but also a moral duty as old people are the backbone of family and society. “This Seminar is an endeavor to address various challenges being faced by the senior citizens and involve various agencies and civil society organisations in generating awareness,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman District Legal Services Authority (Pr. District & Sessions Judge) Jammu, Vinod Chatterji Koul, apprised the gathering that the programme has been designed to develop formal and informal social support system and to give a positive outlook to the Ageing rather than liability.Director National Institute of Social Defence, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, Dr. Veerandra Mishra, highlighted various schemes, programmes and trainings conducted by NISD. He also highlighted the main provisions of the national action plan for senior citizens, which is under preparation.Dr. Aabha Chaudhary, Chairperson Anugraha gave brief introduction about the theme, aims and objectives of the Seminar on Elderly Issues. She highlighted the best collaborative practices implemented by Anugraha for aged welfare in last 20 years of its working across India. Mohammad Akram Chowdhary, Member Secretary J&K State Legal Services Authority presented the welcome address and apprised the participants about various age friendly initiatives of JKSLSA, including recently opened Ahata e waqar. Swati Gupta, Secretary DLSA Samba, and Aseem Sawhney, Addl. Advocate General, J&K High Court Jammu spoke in the first technical session on Legal provisions for Elderly “Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007: Issues and Implementation Mechanisms. Both speakers highlighted the need to inculcate values among youth & family to respect the elderly, as the Act alone cannot change the mindset.The Second technical Session titled Towards Healthy Ageing: Holistic, Physical, Mental and Emotional Well Being was addressed by Dr. Vinod Dhar, Dr. Akhil Menia, and Dr. Manisha Sarup Kohli .The experts highlighted the importance of balanced diet, exercise and regular checkups a must in old age. They explained that due to increasing loneliness, isolation & moving away of family members, mental health problems among elderly are increasing. The seminar drew huge response from over 250 Judicial Officers, Lawyers, Officers from Civil and Police Administration, Senior citizens, NGOs, Students from different Colleges, Faculty Members from various Government and Private Educational Institutions, Sarpanches and Panches from different Blocks.