Kathmandu, October 6

The government has provided identity cards to 200,000 senior citizens in the last two years.

As per the national census 2011, the population of the senior citizens makes up 2.2 million of the total population of the country.

According to Meera Sherchan, chief of Senior Citizen Unit at the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, senior citizen identity card were distributed from the District Women and Children Offices to the people above 60 years of age in the last two years. From Kathmandu Valley alone 70,000 ID cards were distributed in the period, she said.

Senior citizens get 50 per cent discount in public transport and hospital services on the basis of senior citizen identity card.

Elderly people have expressed their concerns about ineffective implementation of discount facility announced for them in hospital services and public transport.

According to Sherchan, senior citizens, especially, of rural areas are unaware of facilities they get thus very few people turn up for ID cards. This card will be distributed from the local levels in near future.

Currently, the government provides Rs 2,000 per month to the people above 70 years of age, who are not government pensioners, under the social security allowance scheme. There are voices for providing such allowance to the people above 60 years of age.