Laxmi Dabas, 75, on Thursday, 11 February, went for an eye-checkup to a clinic 12 km from her home in South Delhi.

“The eye drop used by the doctor left me with a blurred vision. I was told it’s going to be that way for 6-7 hours. My son lives in Bengaluru. He said he’d book a cab for me to go home but I decided to stay back because I did not want to risk taking a cab when I couldn’t see properly. Who knows what the driver would have done?” she stated.

A former college instructor, Dabas has been dwelling by herself in a four-bedroom home in Delhi since 2015 after she misplaced her husband to lung most cancers.

“Living alone is difficult especially after you cross a certain age. Everyday you hear and read about cases of senior citizens being murdered or robbed,” she stated, referring to the loss of life of an 88-year-old lady in Delhi, which she not too long ago examine within the newspaper.

“Three people visited the victim’s house for some repair work, identified that she is old and vulnerable, and then robbed and murdered her. This is a common template. Such news articles are available on wholesale in the papers. But who cares?” stated Dabas.

On 7 February, 88-year-old Shanti Devi was discovered murdered in her home in Northeast Delhi’s Dayalpur.

As per DCP (Northeast) Sanjay Kumar Sain, “Two out of the three accused in the case visited Shanti’s house for renovation a few months ago. After they noticed she was well-to-do and gullible, they hatched a plan along with a third person to commit theft at her house.”

An FIR invoking costs of homicide beneath part 302, theft beneath part 392, and theft beneath part 379 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered in reference to the case.

The Delhi Police has a particular cell that takes care of the aged — folks like Dabas — who reside by themselves within the metropolis.

Speaking to The Quint Special Commissioner of Police (Special Police Unit for Women and Children – SPUWAC) Sunil Gautam stated that the Senior Citizen Cell of his division has over 43,000 registered senior residents who the police recurrently verify on.

“We have WhatsApp and Telegram groups through which we regularly communicate with senior citizens, we visit them occasionally to help with their daily needs and ensure their safety,” Gautam stated.

He added that whereas some senior residents are receptive to a beat constable visiting them recurrently, some do not cooperate. “It’s our duty to ensure they’re safe so we keep trying to make them feel comfortable. We make sure that our officers are trained to deal with the elderly in a sensitive manner,” Gautam stated.

The Quint spoke to senior residents throughout Delhi-NCR about their considerations round security, the nice and the dangerous in regards to the technique of ageing, and the anxieties of dwelling alone.

69-year-old Deodas Ram alongside along with his daughter Aakriti Ram visited previous age houses throughout India for six months to finalise the one dwelling the place Deodas would keep when Aakriti and her husband transfer to Canada for work.

“We found two homes, one in Pune and one here in Delhi,” Deodas informed The Quint sitting on the terrace of Panchvati — a house for senior residents in Delhi’s Tughlakabad space.

Deodas and Aakriti finalised Panchvati after a one-week trial run on the dwelling. “I stayed here for a week. The services were good and this is also close to Chittaranjan Park where I have spent most of my life,” Deodas stated.

Unlike Dabas, who lives by herself in Gurgaon, Deodas stated that he and his daughter felt it was safer for him to maneuver to an previous age dwelling.

For Dabas, nonetheless, the thought of dwelling in an previous age house is terrifying.

“There are days when I slip on the bathroom floor and injure myself, or misplace my chashma somewhere in the house and then take hours to find it. This, however, is still better than living in an old age home. I don’t want to be dependent on someone else for my daily needs,” she stated.

Not all senior residents, nonetheless, can afford an previous age dwelling, stated Himanshu Rath, the founding father of Agewell Foundation — an organisation which which works for the welfare and empowerment of older individuals.

“Even the cheapest old age homes cost Rs 6,000 a month. How then will people who are dependent on state pension or those who come from low-income backgrounds afford these homes?” Rath identified.

Chanda Saini, 71, is a kind of.

A home employee in Northwest Delhi, Chanda moved to Delhi from Rajasthan, 50 years in the past, after her marriage.

“I earn approximately Rs 6000 a month but this income is not stable. Jab mai beemar hoti hun toh kaam par nahi jaa paati aur pagaar se paisa kat jaata hai (When I fall sick and am not able to go to work, money is deducted from my salary),” she stated.

Saini has two sons, each moved out after marriage and work as every day wagers at development websites. She herself lives in a shanty close to Rohini.

As per Delhi authorities’s previous age pension scheme, an quantity of Rs 2500 monthly is given to folks over 70 years of age.

Chanda, nonetheless, is unaware of any such scheme. “I can’t read or write. I also don’t have the time to visit a sarkaari office again and again to claim this money,” she stated.

Except for Saini who has ceaselessly take the busy streets to succeed in to work, Deodas and Dabas stated they barely step out with no purpose.

“I try to stay indoors. Delhi roads have no place for the elderly. Staying indoors is safer, and people on the streets sometimes also misbehave with the elderly. Once on a busy market lane, a person pushed me so hard that my shoulder pained for almost a week,” Dabas stated.

Dabas added that she typically does go to a park close to her home for night walks.

Deodas, nonetheless, lamented that there aren’t any open areas close to his previous age dwelling. “There are hardly any parks around here. Luckily, the home itself is very spacious. So I exercise here only,” he informed The Quint.

Deodas added that typically staying inside the house makes him really feel lonely. “Sometimes, I also feel lonely. But what has that got to do with my age? All people feel lonely at some point or the other. Even I do but then, I have a very strong support system here. We cheer each other up all the time,” he stated.

Rath agreed that there’s little sensitisation concerning the wants of the aged within the society.

“We need to sensitise our children and the youth towards the needs of the elderly. That’s the only way we can control crime against senior citizens and also help make public spaces safer for them. It’s time we introduce such things in our school curriculum,” he stated.