Kathmandu opens leisure centre for elderly
aamaghar KATHMANDU Mayor Bidhya Sundar Shakya inaugurated the city’s first recreational centre for senior citizens in ward-8 on Saturday.
The centre will serve as a geriatric oasis where old-age persons can pursue different hobbies, play and make friends.
“This is our first step towards providing better life for senior citizens. We plan to set up similar facility in all wards of Kathmandu,” Mayor Shakya said.
The move has gained accolades of Bhurungkhel locals, the old-age people in particular.
“This is a welcome move. We elderly people need a place like this where we can meet people of our age, make friends and share our stories. They should build a centre like this all over the country,” said Maha Prasad Parajuli, chairperson Agraj Samaj Nepal, a society of senior citizens.
The ward office equipped the centre with various paraphernalia to make the place enjoyable and comfortable for its regulars.
Nuchhe Kaji Maharjan, the ward chairman, said more items would be added to the centre in the coming days.
“Our aim is to make this centre a happy place for our senior citizens, a place where they can play, sing and read. We will soon add popular board and table games, like chess and carrom, and TV sets” he said.
The centre already has traditional musical instruments such as harmonium, flute, madal and tabala.
Balkrishna Maharjan, a 65-year-old musician, believes that music has healing power and he wishes to form a musical act by assembling a group of elderly persons like him who are expected to visit the centre.
“I am extremely pleased by what the ward office has done here. We can now perform bhajans [religious songs] and partake in other leisurely activities. It will be great fun,” he said.
There are around 700 senior citizens in the ward. The ward office is also planning to issue old-age identity cards to those people who are above 65 years of age.
Maharjan said the office had already issued old-age identity cards to around 600 people in the ward.