As the trend of nuclear families continues to grow, senior citizens are finding it difficult to live stress-free and safe lives. They feel ignored by their children, who either do not want to live with them, or have to move to other places for work.

Keeping in mind the ever-growing numbers of elderly people who are dealing with such issues, a philanthropic organisation, Dream and Beauty Charitable Trust (DBCT), launched ‘Heavenly Palace’ in Doraha town in Ludhiana district in 2014. The aim was to provide all the facilities to old-age citizens and at the same time give them an environment that is home-like.

The campus built on 40 acres of land provides a number of amenities ranging from old age-friendly food, a library to doctors round-the-clock, on the premises. “We know that tastes, thinking, the liking of each person varies, so the staff here has been trained accordingly. During the orientation, we tell the staff that “you can’t change people who come here to stay, but you can definitely change yourself”. We ask them to just treat them like their parents,” said S S Johl, Senior Advisor, Heavenly Palace.

Currently, 160 people stay at Heavenly Palace, though it can accommodate 600 senior citizens. “The main reason why I shifted to this place was because I got frustrated with doing the daily household chores at the age of 70. Also, the air in Delhi is so bad that I wanted to move out. It has been two years since I came here, and I don’t plan to go back,” said Renu Ahuja, one of the residents at Heavenly Palace.

The group plans to set up similar old-age homes in other cities, once the accommodation at the Ludhiana campus is fully occupied.

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