Enforcing care

The Pronam initiative of the Kolkata Police has provided a social platform to over 15,000 senior citizens who are fighting loneliness in the metropolis MOUSHUMI BASU |

TYear could not have been happier for 76-year-old Sandhya Biswas who has been living alone in her Kolkata apartment for the past five years after the demise of her husband. On January 1, the Kolkata police invited her to a special cultural event that they had organised at the Ballygunge Police Station. It was attended by 45 other senior citizens from the neighbourhood. And as the police band performed old classics, Biswas, after a long time, danced and hummed.

The event was part of the Pronam initiative that the Kolkata Police had launched in 2009 to increase social interaction among senior citizens while saving them from old-age depression and ensuring their safety. The initiative, run in association with city nonprofit The Bengal, today looks after more than 15,000 elderly who are fighting loneliness in the metropolis.

Officials and activists who are part of the initiative say joining Pronam is easy. Individuals or couples who are above 60 and living alone simply fill up a membership form and submit it at the local police station to be part of the social platform. Under the initiative, the police has set up a round-the-clock office in the campus of Ballygunge Police Station that runs helplines—033-24190740 and 9674288833. Additionally, 64 of the 70 police stations in the city have Pronam units, managed by at least two liaisoning personnel, to look after the members and act on the complaints.

The Kolkata police has also tied up with 58 hospitals and medical centres where they refer members suffering from health problems. Pronam provides ambulance service for free and organises health