The State government has decided to introduce mobile medical units in rural areas for the benefit of the senior citizens.

These government run mobile medical units will work on the lines of the mobile medical units which are already introduced by some of the private organisations, said Dakshina Kannada Women and Child Welfare Department Deputy Director A Shakunthala.

She was the guest honour at the 10th Ashraya Day, which was celebrated to mark the decennial celebrations of KMC Ashraya, a day care centre for active ageing which is a unit of the Department of Medicine and Physiotherapy of KMC Hospital, Attavar. In the programme held at the hospital on Sunday, she said that the government has planned various schemes and programmes for the welfare of the senior citizens. With the introduction of mobile medical units, the senior citizens in remote villages who have financial constraints too can undergo regular medical check-up and treatment.  The mobile healthcare units will visit every village, identify the senior citizens in need of health care and will do the necessary arrangement, she informed.

She said that the government will introduce Senior Citizens Welfare fund during the current fiscal year. “All the new schemes of the government for the welfare of the senior citizens will be introduced during 2012-13. There are about 46 lakh senior citizens in the State and we should take good care of them. Ashraya which has been started by KMC is a role model centre and such centres should be started in every taluk. The Women and Child Welfare Department will do the needful to start such centres and it could be realised only if the private organisations and NGOs too join their hands in the noble task,” said Shakunthala.

Presiding over the function, Manipal University Registrar Dr G K Prabhu urged people not to ignore the senior citizens.

“Most often we tend to ignore the speech of our elderly parents. We attribute reasons like lack of patience and time for not lending ears to their talks. But we should develop a habit to talk to the elderly and listen to their problems. Every man becomes old one or the other day and the day we become old, our children would ignore us,” he said.

The inmates of KMC Ashraya had gathered in large numbers on the occasion. Ashraya currently has 550 lifetime members and other temporary members. KMC Mangalore Dean Dr M V Prabhu launched the decennial celebrations. KMC Hospit5al Attavar Deputy MS Dr Madhusudan Upadhya and Ashraya Sanchalak Dr Prabha Adhikari were present.