Senior citizens all over are treated with respect. They have contributed to the society in their younger days, and are now asset for the community with their experience of life. Recently certain incident in a multi-storeyed housing society, in Sector-50, has come as a shocker for the senior citizens who have been residing there for over a decade.
Senior citizens of that society have their FORUM, where they meet once a month to socialize, play tambola, celebrate birthdays, etc. with an aim to know each other well and spend some good time. This Forum was formed more than 10 years back and has more than 50 members. The Management Committee has provided the facility of using its Community Hall free of charge for their once-a-month meeting.
While the senior citizens are generally treated respectfully and accorded some privileges by the government, banks, railways, tax authorities, etc. the MC of the society is understood to have recently started acting in strange ways, with some vengeance. First it withdrew the services of an office boy who was otherwise being paid for his services in the meeting. Then they threatened to impose fine for not leaving the community hall clean after the meeting. After that they asked for charges for the use of air conditioners, which so far was free since the beginning. The MC also wanted the Forum to shift the day of meeting from Friday to some other day, which the Forum readily changed to Thursday.
All the above indicates the lack of respect and consideration shown by the MC to its senior citizens, who are all residents of the society.
When we asked the reason for this change in behaviour, unheard of in any other society, the seniors reasoned out, “It appears that few members of the MC have some grouses against the senior citizens and are deliberately trying to disrespect them, which is quite unfortunate.”
