Senior citizens are beacon of knowledge and motivation

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has extended hearty best wishes for the good health, long life and dignified living of all the senior citizens on the occasion of the Second National Senior Citizens Day.

In a message of best wishes issued today, the Head-of-the-State wished this to all the Nepali senior citizens within the country and abroad.

"I heartily urge one and all to contribute from their respective quarters for making the life of the senior citizens comfortable and respectable, with the expectation that the Day today would inspire all to internalize the importance of the ideal family based on the Eastern culture guided by the principle of 'Matri devo bhava, Pitri devo bhava', which means consider mother, father as God," the President said.

It is stated in the President's message that the senior citizens, who are full of knowledge, skills and experience, are the beam of motivation and knowledge for us, and that today's youth should be able to learn the life skills from the skills, experience and knowledge that the older persons have learnt through life-long struggle and experiences.

The Head-of-the-State stressed that collective efforts of the family, society and the State were required for creating an enabling environment for transferring the fountain of experience and knowledge held by the senior citizens to the new generation.

"The members of the family, society, organizations and the three tiers of the government should collaborate in a coordinated manner for making the living of the senior citizens dignified and comfortable," reads the President's message.

She has also called on all the concerned sides to further expand and implement, in an effective way, the concession and facilities that the Government of Nepal has provided to the senior citizens in various sectors of public services, including in the health, transport sectors.

The National Senior Citizens Day is marked on the 11th day of Nepali month of Push every year in commemoration of the day on which the State started distributing social security allowance to the senior citizens. The government started distributing the social security allowance to the older persons on December 26, 1994.

This year also the National Senior Citizens Day is being celebrated around the slogan- 'Our Common Concern: Rights of the Senior Citizens' – by organizing various programmes.