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Vinson Kurian

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Jan. 13

THE State Government is taking up a comprehensive survey on the living conditions of the sizable population of the aged (60 years and above) who now constitute as much as 10 per cent (32 lakh) of the State's population (3.2 crore) and is still growing at an uncomfortable clip, as the census figures reveal.

The respective figures for the previous census have been 19 lakh out of a total 2.54 crore (1981) and 26 lakh out of 2.91 crore (1991).

The State-wide survey, already set in motion by the Department of Economics and Statistics, will also target for special focus the large number of old-age homes dotting the length and breadth of the State and the comfort level of their inmates, according to sources in the department.

The survey will, among other things, seek to assess the scope of extending the old age home concept to towns and villages. The valuable inputs thrown up would be prospectively used to build a policy framework for ensuring the well-being and security of the senior citizens.

A growing number of the aged are forced to spend the twilight of their lives within the confines of the concrete monstrosities that rise to blot the landscape, reflecting the dollar or dinar earning capacity of their offspring, more than anything else.

On a different plane, aggressive spending by successive Governments in the health and education sectors have enabled the State to post an enviable quality of life index which is on a par with the developed world.

But this has also contributed to lengthening of the life span with the average longevity going well beyond the 70-year mark. This is twice as lengthy as the benchmark figure prevailing at the time of Independence.

The break-up of the joint family system and evolution of nuclear families, the progressive shift in focus from an economy based on agriculture to that which sets great store by the services sector now, the limited per capita availability of land for purposes of cultivation and growing opportunities in the education sector have all contributed to a situation where large number of young men and women find themselves moving out of their places of origin to set up a living or career, leaving their aged parents behind.

Explaining the methodology, the sources said that as much as 20 per cent of the wards from each panchyat/ municipality/ corporation representing the rural and the urban Diaspora would be selected for the survey.

This will constitute the best possible and most representative sample ever attempted for an effort of this scale. The same procedure is being adopted for the conduct of the 2000-01 agricultural census being concurrently undertaken in the State.

The survey of the aged would be taken up at those very households that have been chosen for the conduct of the agricultural census. The enumerator will separately seek out the details about the presence, if any, of persons with the age of 60 and above in these households and assess their living conditions with the help of a comprehensive questionnaire specially drafted for the purpose.

`Senior citizens' are those who have attained the age of 60 years as of April 1, 2002, for purposes of the survey, which would also serve as the standard reference period thereof.

The results of the survey would also serve as inputs for the State Government in preparing its annual plans, the sources said.

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