Hyderabad: Old-age homes reeling under financial crunch

Hyderabad: Several old-age homes taking care of the elderly in the city have been struggling to look after the inmates due to the financial crisis since the announcement of lockdown.

Hyderabad being one of the hardest-hit cities in India due to COVID-19, the shelter homes could not get any financial help from donors due to the stringent lockdown conditions.

There are around 200 old-age homes in Hyderabad, which have around 1,000 inmates. Of them, most are funded by charities for maintenance of homes, essentials, medicines and other things. They are solely dependent on the donations.

However, the current crisis has left almost all the charity homes without any financial means and, hence, there is a big question mark over their existence itself.

Speaking of their plight, Narasimha Rao, president of Telangana All Senior Citizens Association, said, "Many old-age homes get donations and help from private donors which they rely on direly. There are around 10 to 15 shelter homes in the city which can support themselves, but the lockdown spelt hard times even for their normal functioning."

There are only two government-run old-age homes in the state, one in Hyderabad with 30 inmates and one in Karimnagar with 40 inmates.

Babita, founder of Baseera NGO, infomred, "Food is not the only essential thing. There are other things also. Add to the difficulties in procuring them, there are now very few helping staff to look after the inmates as many have returned to their hometowns."

"We conduct a monthly check-up for the elders, during lockdown but due to the virus scare, no doctor is ready to visit them. We managed the expenses to function the shelter home from our own savings and with some contributions from our friends and families," adds Babita.

Babita has around 10 to 15 elders residing in her old-age home. During lockdown many senior citizens in old-age homes started facing depression for being away from their near and dear ones, as they couldn't meet them.