Kathmandu, October 1:

Speaker Subas Nembang today said that the elderly citizens should always share their experience and ideas that can be of help as the nation is in a difficult situation.

Speaking at the main function jointly organised by the Ministry of Women Children and Social Welfare and National Senior Citizen Organisation Network Nepal (NSCONN) to mark the 17th International Senior Citizen Day 2007 today, Nembang said that senior citizens are valuable property of each nation because they are full of experiences and skills.

He also stressed on the need for transferring the experiences of the senior citizens to the next generation through some mechanism. “We should have a broad discussion to develop mechanism to facilitate transfer of knowledge of skills from older to newer generations,” he said.

“The government passed the Senior Citizen Act on November 23, 2005, but the government has not been able prepare its regulations,” he said. He also assured that the parliament would play an appropriate role to formulate the regulations as soon as possible.

He also honoured two senior citizens, Prof Dr Lila KC, president of NSCONN and Dr Gauri Shanker Lal Das, Founder member of Adult Welfare Association, for their contribution in their respective fields.

While accepting the award, Prof Dr Lila KC said that everyone should focus on implementation of the Senior Citizens’ Act. She also underscored the need to extend the Pashupati Elderly Home keeping in mind the increasing number of elderly people seeking help from such homes.

Dr Das complained that the international sector has worked for children, women and other deprived groups but nothing has been done for elderly citizens. He also demanded an international law to safeguard the rights of the elderly citizens.