Corona Lockdown: 'Start Helpline for Seniors', High Court tells Government

On Wednesday, taking note of the problems being faced by Senior Citizens during Covid-19 pandemic, Delhi High Court asked the AAP Government to create a dedicated helpline for them.

A bench comprising of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice S Prasad said a dedicated helpline number would be helpful in addressing their problems on an urgent basis. It asked the government and other stakeholders to widely publicise the helpline number to make seniors aware of the facility.

With these directions, the HC disposed of a PIL filed by a 61-year-old man seeking the court’s intervention to help senior citizens such as him struck hard by the unprecedented lockdown.

The plea by Ajit Kumar had sought directions to the government and police to make effective arrangements for banking, health, groceries and other basic facilities to senior citizens at their doorsteps and to allot special hospitals/clinics for their medical emergencies.

Appearing for Delhi government, additional standing counsel Anuj Aggarwal earlier told the bench that government machinery at all levels was already doing its best to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Kumar’s plea had underlined that as per medical research, while people of all ages can be infected by the new coronavirus, older people and people with pre-existing medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease, appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the coronavirus and dying from it.

It said: