Sunday, 09 July 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN

Elderly people in the provisional State capital Dehradun opined that the time Bank initiative can bring positive changes in their lives. Recently, social organisation Nirogi Bharat Foundation (NBF) has started a ‘Time Bank’ in Dehradun which enables account holders to deposit their quality time by volunteering to assist elderly people.

Talking to The Pioneer NBF founder Rohit Mamgain said, “The time bank is an initiative started by us about a month ago in Dehradun. I got inspired by the countries like Sweden which encouraged me to adopt the time bank concept.”

He further said that this new unique initiative will contribute significantly to improving the happiness index rating in the city. He stated that by meeting the emotional and social needs of senior citizens, the foundation strives to create a positive impact on their overall wellbeing. The life of the elderly people will become happier with these interactions, he opined.

An 83-year-old senior citizen, Arjun Bisht said that he welcomes the time bank policy for the elders. He said that the time bank introduced a new direction in the city. He opined that in today’s time, the younger generation goes abroad or to other cities for a better future, due to which many elders are left alone. He claimed that from this month elderly people of Dehradun will get a new life.

Another senior citizen Laxmi Arora said that she welcomes this new initiative. She said that the time bank will also encourage the citizens in the new direction. She said that with the time bank, the younger generation will understand that time is much more precious than anything else in the world. Money can be earned again and again, but time never comes back, she opined.

The State programme manager of HelpAge India Krishna Avtar told this correspondent, “The new initiative of the time bank in Dehradun will help many elderly people who feel isolated in their house. However, I would also suggest the organisation do proper verification of the volunteers before registering them in the time bank. Apart from this, the time bank would also help in overcoming the depression among the elderly people.”