PANJIM: Minister for Social Welfare Pandurang Madkaikar on Sunday said that the government was thinking of moving a legislation making it compulsory for citizens to respect and follow the rules in regards to senior citizens at all public places.
“Since the rules in regards to senior citizens are violated most of the times, the government is thinking of moving a legislation which makes it compulsory for citizens to respect and follow the rules in regards to senior citizens at all public places,” said Madkaikar while addressing the gathering after felicitating 22 senior citizens at a program organised by the Department of Social Welfare on occasion of International Senior Citizens Day.
“The legislation will make any violation an offence, if rules related to senior citizens are not respected. Only when there is a fear of getting booked or punished, people will start abiding these rules,” he said
He further said that there are several rules which are formed to make life of senior citizens easy but many a time people do not respect these rules. For example there is reservation in seat in the buses for senior citizens but it is often noticed that those seats are occupied by other people.
“The Social Welfare department has already issued a circular to all the departments ordering them to give priority to Senior Citizens in the queue or other works. You need not stand in a queue to get ticket of Kadamba bus or when you go to any department you can jump the queue and get to the window,” the minister added
Meanwhile, Madkaikar said that people lack civic sense that people from other countries have.
“We have majority of the laws but people here in India do not follow it. We do not stop when people are crossing on zebra crossing or even for that matter we just throw bottles or packets on the roads. This is because we do not have civic sense and it is necessary that this quality should come into us,” Madkaikar said.
