Over 22,000 Senior Citizens Linked with Government Welfare Schemes; State-Level Health Camps Show Tangible Impact
Senior Citizen Action Plan: Beyond Policy, Ground-Level Action Ensures Support for the Elderly
From Healthcare to Pension and Legal Awareness — All Facilities Provided Under One Roof
Chandigarh, February 27:
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Punjab Government is taking continuous, concrete and people-centric steps to ensure the health, security and dignity of senior citizens, treating them as a valuable asset of society. As part of the state-level campaign “Our Seniors, Our Pride”, more than 22,000 senior citizens have been registered through health check-up camps and connected with various government welfare schemes.
Sharing this information, Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur said that under the Senior Citizen Action Plan, a budget provision of ₹7.86 crore has been made during the financial year 2025–26 to ensure comprehensive care for the elderly, with a special focus on taking healthcare services closer to their doorstep.
She informed that during the health camps, 6,622 senior citizens underwent general health check-ups, 2,544 received orthopedic examinations and eye check-ups were conducted for 4,719 beneficiaries. In addition, 2,267 senior citizens participated in yoga sessions, 1,676 availed homeopathic treatment and 2,054 benefited from Ayurvedic treatment along with assistive devices, significantly strengthening both physical and mental well-being.
The Cabinet Minister further stated that under the ALIMCO scheme, 421 senior citizens were registered, out of which 89 were provided with wheelchairs, spectacles and hearing aids. Besides this, old-age pension forms of 566 senior citizens were prepared and senior citizen cards were issued to 455 beneficiaries.
She added that health camps have been successfully organized in most districts of the state, while camps will soon be conducted in Faridkot and Sangrur. At these camps, senior citizens were sent for further treatment for cataract surgery, provided free assistive devices, pension-related services, senior citizen cards, yoga camps and legal awareness programmes — all under one roof.
Under this initiative, 5,110 senior citizens were also made aware of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007. To promote socially active and dignified ageing, productive and inter-generational activities were organized, in which 459 senior citizens participated in active ageing camps, while 2,192 took part in cultural and inter-generational activities such as Giddha, Bhangra, poetry and theatre. Additionally, 3,005 senior citizens adopted a healthier lifestyle through yoga camps.
The Punjab Government has also launched a dedicated helpline number 14567 for senior citizens. Any elderly person can call this helpline to seek immediate assistance.
Dr. Baljit Kaur said that senior citizens are an invaluable treasure of society and caring for them is both a moral and social responsibility of the Mann Government. She appealed to families and social organizations to actively support senior citizens by helping them avail these government welfare facilities.
