<p>The 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.<br /><br /></p>.<p>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.<br /><br />“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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /> “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.”<br /><br />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.</p>
<p>The 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.<br /><br /></p>.<p>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.<br /><br />“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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /> “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.”<br /><br />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.</p>