138 senior citizens rescued in a month

The city police have launched a initiative called 'Kaaval Karangal' which involves coordinated rescue of elders

As many as 138 abandoned senior citizens were rescued in the city limits from March 15 under the new initiative called 'Kaaval Karangal', said City Police Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal on Wednesday. The city police have launched the initiative, with the assistance of officers of the Greater Chennai Corporation and non-governmental organisations, to rescue abandoned / homeless persons through helplines. Under this initiative, the police helplines are synchronised with technical support, liaison with NGOs and other government services to help abandoned citizens in need of medical support. At Rajarathinam stadium, Mr. Aggarwal formally inaugurated the initiative and distributed materials to NGOs and police personnel to handle cases. "Under this initiative, we want to quickly reach out to abandoned / uncared senior citizens who are in the need of care and protection. Besides rescuing such people from roads or any other place, we will either reunite with their family or send them to shelters. We also provide medical treatments and psychological counselling."