- शनिबार, ८ वैशाख, २०८१
Kathmandu, Oct. 1: Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare, Riddhibaba Pradhan, has said that senior citizens’ identity cards would be distributed soon.
At a programme organised by the Ministry, National Federation of Senior Citizens and other organisations concerned here today on the occasion of the 23rd International Day of Older Persons, Minister Pradhan said that senior citizen branch has been established at the Ministry under the section officer of under-secretary level.
Secretary at the Ministry, Dinesh Hari Adhikari, said that arrangement has been made to provide 50 per cent concession to two senior citizens and to reserve two seats in public vehicles, which would be implemented from October 18.
On the occasion, Shanti Ashram, Bungmati in Lalitpur and Bal Krishna Shrestha of Prashanti Elderly Home, Surkhet, were honoured.
Representatives of the ministry and different organisations organised a rally and reached Pashupati Elderly Home this morning.
The International Day of Older Persons is being marked in Nepal today under the slogan ‘The future we want: what older persons are saying’.
The United Nations in 1991 had announced the International Day of Older Persons for October 1 with the objective of respecting senior citizens.
Out of the total population of Nepal in 2048 BS, 4.6 per cent (around 1.1 million) were senior citizens.
Similarly, as per the census of 2068 BS, out of the total population, 8.14 per cent are senior citizens. It is expected that now there are around 2.5 million senior citizens in the country.
The country’s population growth rate is 1.4 per cent, where population of senior citizens is increasing by around six percent.
