The Kozhikode Corporation’s ‘Pakalveedu’ (Day home for the elderly) at Kunduparamba will host a Praveshanotsavam (newcomers’ festival) at 4 p.m. on Wednesday to welcome the elderly in the locality to enjoy the facilities offered there.
Writer M. Mukundan will be the guest of honour on the occasion while Mayor Beena Philip will inaugurate the Pakalveedu. Deputy Mayor C.P. Musafir Ahamed will preside over the event.
The ‘Smart Pakalveedu’ was set up in 2021, but could not be put to proper use due to COVID-19 restrictions. It served as a vaccination centre for the elderly. Located next to the Public Health Centre at Kunduparamba, it will serve the elderly from four neighbouring wards.
“This is where the elderly in the locality can spend their free time together, sharing their experiences or engaging in recreational activities and simple exercises. It will be a relief for the senior citizens who are often left alone at homes when their family members go to work or school,” said P. Diwakaran, chairman of the welfare standing committee of the Corporation.
The elderly can have breakfast, lunch and evening snacks from the Pakalveedu and get medical help whenever required, as it is located next to the health centre. The medical aid available through the Vayomithram project will be made available to the elderly here, combining modern medicine, Ayurveda and Homoeopathy.
The Pakalveedu at Kunduparamba is one of the five such facilities set up by the Corporation recently. The other facilities are at Karuvasseri, Beypore, Eranhipalam and Poolakkadavu.
The Mayor will also inaugurate the benches set up in public places for the elderly.
The setting up of Pakalveedus and benches is part of the new elderly policy of the civic body, which is a comprehensive package for the welfare of senior citizens in the city. It is also a constituent of AZHAK (A mass initiative for zero waste, uplifting happiness index and attitudinal change in Kozhikode), which focuses on raising the happiness index of citizens including the elderly.
