JOIN USThe Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association (CPWA), a non-profit organisation, is issuing free identity cards to elderly walkers at the park, in an effort to help them and their families in emergencies.
The cards, which will carry a photograph, name, age, address, blood group and emergency contact, are expected to better help identify elderly visitors who collapse due to exhaustion or other ailments during their walk.
“On several occasions, we have found old people inthe park who have collapsed due to exhaustion or other health-related issues. While passersby do stop to help them, it is often difficult to contact their families because of a lack of proper identification,” said S Umesh, CPWA spokesman speaking at the card distribution ceremony at Cubbon Park onSunday.
If the card holder consents, the card will also specify if he or she had been diagnosed for critical conditions like autism or Alzheimer's.
Umesh recounted an incident several months ago, in which an elderly man was found wandering in the park in a state of delirium. It was later discovered that he had been in the park for almost two days. “He could not recall anything, even his name,” Umesh said.
“JP Nagar police finally traced his identity — he was a former IAS officer diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Family members, who had been searching for him for two days, had even filed a missing person’s complaint.”
Apart from senior citizens, other walkers are eligible for a free ID card, which they can get behind the Central Library at Cubbon Park every Sunday.