Senior citizens requested the Union government to formulate a better Natio-nal Policy of Senior Citize-ns (NPSC) and special allocations in the Union Budget for their welfare.

Senior citizens from various parts of the country participated in the 11th annual conference and decennial celebrations of the All India Senior Citizens Confederation (AISCCON) that began here on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, senior citizens said that they were being neglected by government and given a raw deal every time. They demanded that government give a minimum Rs.500 to senior citizens under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension (IGNOAP) and also stressed for effective implementation of the pension scheme.

The chairman and managing director of the Bank of Maharashtra, Mr Anup Shankar Bhattacharya, who was chief guest on day one of the two-day conference, observed that there was no proper social security for the aged in India unlike in western countries.

Explaining the importance of being self reliant, Mr Bhattacharya said that an elderly man should not retire but “retry” things which they used to do during early days.

The minister for tribal welfare, Mr P. Balaraju, who was also present at the conference said that state government wanted to set up a convention centre for senior citizens’ welfare on the beach road near RK beach but the project did not take off even after a foundation stone was laid long ago. The minister assured that he would take up the building issue with the authorities and ensure that construction was completed soon.

‘I will also take up the issue of providing concessions to senior citizens in RTC buses,” he said.

There will be seminars on problems faced by senior citizens in the country during the two day conference.